Annual Leave Policy
Dunston ANNUAL LEAVE POLICY
Annual leave entitlement 2
Leave year 2
Carrying over leave 2
Requesting leave 2
Sickness during leave 2
Payment of annual leave 2
Payment in lieu 3
Annual leave entitlement
Your paid leave entitlement is set out in your contract of employment. The basic leave entitlement for a full-time member of staff is 20 days per annum in addition to 8 Bank holidays. Part time employees receive a pro-rated entitlement according to their hours of work.
Leave year
The leave year runs for 12 months from an agreed date upon engagement. It is your responsibility to manage your leave in such a way that you are able to take it all during the leave year. Your annual leave entitlement will be pro-rated in your first and last year of employment with the council.
Carrying over leave
Except in the very rare circumstances of a booked and agreed period of leave being cancelled at the council’s request, it is not preferrable to carry over unused days of leave from one leave year to the next unless exceptional circumstances are agreed in advance, nor will any payment be made for leave unused at the end of a leave year if this is not done. Thus, leave untaken at the end of a leave year would be lost.
Requesting leave
You should request leave from the Clerk (or the Council in the case of the Clerk), with as much notice as possible, and a month at minimum. This will allow the council to plan workloads. Before granting leave we will consider;
- The team’s workload,
- The need for office or team cover.
If you take leave without such permission it will be treated as unauthorised absence and dealt with under the Disciplinary Procedure.
Sickness during leave
If you become ill during a period of paid annual leave, you must comply with the requirements of the sickness reporting and certification procedure, if you wish to have this sickness period discounted from the period of paid leave taken. It is important that you contact the Clerk (or the Council in the case of the Clerk), on the first day of sickness and keep the council up to date during the period of sickness.
Payment of annual leave
The council does not offer payment in lieu of leave entitlement unless you are leaving the council and have not taken leave entitlement that you have accrued at the time of leaving.
Payment in lieu
If you leave during the course of a leave year, and cannot take any outstanding accrued leave before your last day, you will receive a payment in lieu of any outstanding accrued leave. In such a case, a calculation will be made of the amount of paid leave due to you, on a pro rata basis, for that part of the leave year up to the date of termination of the contract. Holiday pay will be based on your current rate of pay including any regular overtime.
If, however, you have taken more paid leave than is due by this calculation, then a deduction will be made from your salary payments for an amount at your basic daily rate for the days in question. Such a deduction will be deemed to be a contractually authorised deduction.
This is a non-contractual procedure which will be reviewed from time to time.
— policy ends here —
Notes
1. Annual leave entitlement
The statutory minimum leave entitlement for full time workers if 20 days in addition to 8 Bank Holidays. This should be pro-rated for part time workers.
2. Carrying over leave
It is important that staff take their statutory annual leave in order to ensure the council complies with working time legislation. The council has a responsibility to support staff to take their annual leave
3. Rolled-up holiday pay
It is not permissible to "roll-up" holiday pay into basic pay, i.e. pay an employee a higher hourly, daily or weekly wage, part of which is designated as holiday pay, with the result that, when the employee goes on leave, they receive no pay..
4. Religious festivals
Refusal of annual leave on a day that has religious significance for a particular employee may amount to indirect discrimination under legislation.
Important notice
This is an example of an employment policy designed for a small council adhering to statutory minimum requirements and does not constitute legal advice. As with all policies it should be consistent with your terms and conditions of employment.
This document was commissioned by the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) in 2019 for the purpose of its member councils and county associations. Every effort has been made to ensure that the contents of this document are correct at time of publication. NALC cannot accept responsibility for errors, omissions and changes to information subsequent to publication.
This document has been written by the HR Services Partnership – a company that provides HR advice and guidance to town and parish councils. Please contact them on 01403 240 205 for information about their services.
Policy effective from: Immediate
- Review March 2025 ……………RjM…………………….
- Review March 2026 ………………………………………….
- Review March 2027 ………………………………………….
- Review March 2028 ………………………………………….