Annual Leave Policy

Table of Contents

Read alongside

Sickness Absence Policy

1.0 Introduction

1.1 You’ll find everything related to your annual leave entitlement in this policy, from how many days you get, to when the annual leave year starts, whether you can carry over any unused annual leave and what steps to follow to request and make annual leave arrangements.

2.0 Scope of policy

2.1 This policy covers all employees.

2.2 It does not apply to self-employed contractors.

2.3 This policy is non-contractual but outlines the way in which we deal with general annual leave and privilege days. We reserve the right to amend this policy at any time. Such changes will be notified to all employees.

3.0 Annual Leave Entitlement

3.1 All employees will be entitled to 25 days’ annual leave a year excluding the eight public and bank holidays and any other public holidays as declared from time to time (prorated for part-time employees), unless specified differently in an individual’s statement of terms on joining us.

3.2 Part-time employees will have an entitlement (including public and bank holidays where applicable), which is prorated, dependent on the number of days they work each week.

3.3 Employees on fixed-term contracts lasting less than 12 months will have their entitlement prorated according to the length of the fixed term during the leave year or as appropriate if on a longer contract.

3.4 All employees will accrue additional annual leave with length of service. Annual leave entitlement is as follows (pro-rated for part-time employees):

3.5 Where you are entitled to an increase in annual leave, this will be applied on the 1^st April following the anniversary of your start date.

3.6 The above additional annual leave accrual for part-time and temporary employees of Clinical Partners will be applied pro rata to the part-time hours and days worked and/or contract duration.

3.7 For the avoidance of doubt, the annual leave entitlement plus entitlement to public holidays is made up of the 5.6 weeks defined under the Working Time Regulations 1998, plus additional contractual entitlement.

3.8 The entitlement for employees who join or leave us during the leave year will be calculated on a pro rata basis using the total annual leave entitlement (including bank and public holidays) and according to the number of full calendar weeks worked in the leave year.

4.0 Additional Privilege days

4.1 There is also one privilege day allocated to all employees in addition to this annual leave entitlement.  This privilege day falls on the employee’s birthday and entitles them to a paid day off.  The privilege day must be taken within a week either side of the day of the employees’ birthday otherwise it is lost and cannot be rescheduled or carried over.  This privilege day is a non-contractual entitlement.

4.2 The privilege day is booked using the online HR system.  How to book this forms part of an employee’s induction / onboarding upon joining us.

5.0 Process for booking annual leave

5.1 Our annual leave year runs from 1^st April to 31^st March each year.

5.2 We operate an online system for booking annual leave via the HR system.  You will be given access to this system upon joining.  You will also be able to view your annual leave entitlement / balance through this system at any time.  This is to give you the ability to easily plan your leave throughout the year.  It also provides an overview to the line managers of the employees within their department on any given date in to inform whether it is appropriate to authorise an employee’s annual leave request in line with business / operational needs.

5.2 Employees must give notice of their request to take leave.

5.3 Your Line Manager must approve annual leave arrangements before any binding commitments are entered into. Annual leave requests are authorised on a “first come, first served” basis ensuring that there is sufficient cover and in order not to prejudice our operational requirements. The exception to this is the period that falls over Christmas and New Year each year which is detailed separately in this policy. Once your line manager authorises or declines your request you will receive an email on-line advising their decision. If you feel your request has been unreasonably refused, you should refer the matter to your head of department. The company endeavours to ensure that you have every opportunity to take your annual leave at the time your request them, but this needs to be balanced with the needs of the business and ultimately the patients to whom we provide our services.

5.4 No more than 2 weeks annual leave shall be taken at any time, without prior approval of your Department Director. 

5.5 Annual leave should be requested through the HR system electronically and are only confirmed at the point they are authorised. We therefore strongly suggest that you do not make any bookings, reservations, etc., until your annual leave request has been authorised.

6.0 Carrying over annual leave from one year to another.

6.1 Employees should try to use their annual leave allocation within the leave year (1st April to 31st March) to which it relates. Employees can carry over a maximum of 4 days annual leave (prorated for part time employees) into the next leave year, but this should be discussed with your line manager. Any carried over annual leave must be used by 30th June of the next annual leave year. The normal annual leave request process will apply.

7.0 Leaving your employment with Clinical Partners

7.1 On termination of employment, you may be required to use any remaining annual leave entitlement during your notice period. Alternatively, you will be paid in lieu of any accrued but untaken annual leave entitlement for the current leave year to date, plus a maximum of 2 days annual leave permitted to be carried over from previous years under this policy or as required by law.   We reserve the right to deduct a sum that is equivalent to the salary payment for any leave that has already been taken in excess of the accrued amount. 

7.2 Privilege days are discretionary and do not form part of your annual leave entitlement; as such they will not form part of any calculation for termination.

8.0 New starters and pre-booked leave

8.1 During the recruitment process, prospective employees may be asked whether they have any leave booked that would take place after commencement of employment. If the individual is recruited, we will do our best to honour these requests. However, this will be more challenging at peak holiday periods, such as the Christmas leave period where annual leave may already have been authorised and where business / operational requirements still need to be met.

9.0 Christmas Leave Period

9.1 The Christmas leave period is defined as the period starting from 15 December and ending on 7 January.

9.2 The Company is closed during bank holidays within the Christmas leave period.

9.3 Based on business needs during this period, the organisation will need to ensure the minimum staffing requirements are met.

9.4 In order to request leave during the period 15 December to 7 January, all employees will be asked to submit their desired leave requests prior to 31 August each year. Once submitted, the line manager (and department Head/Director) of each team will have discretion to accept or decline annual leave requests made for this period during. This decision will be based on business needs and will follow the normal Company procedures for accepting or declining annual leave requests, as set out within the annual leave policy. 

9.5 Requests for leave that falls during the Christmas leave period for exceptional circumstances, e.g., if an employee is getting married, can be submitted to the line manager in the usual way but require Director level approval.

10.0 Sickness during periods of annual leave

10.1 Annual leave continues to accrue during periods of sickness absence and family leave. 

10.2 If you are sick or injured during an annual leave period and would have been incapable of work, you may choose to treat the period of incapacity as sick leave and reclaim the affected days of annual leave. This will need to be supported by a doctor’s fit note in all instances. Where the annual leave is re-arranged, the original period will be treated as sick leave and be paid in accordance with the sick pay entitlements. Should this sickness absence lead to absence levels triggering the next stage in the absence procedure then this will be dealt with accordingly.

10.3 If your contract states that you are entitled to company sick pay, this will only be paid for such days if you comply with our Sickness Absence Policy, including notifying your manager immediately of your incapacity and obtaining medical evidence, even if you are abroad.

10.4 Dishonest claims or other abuse of this policy will be treated as misconduct under our disciplinary procedure.

11.0 Annual leave during long term sickness absence

11.1 Sick leave is usually considered long term if it lasts longer than 4 weeks.

11.2 If an employee has not been able to use their annual leave because they have been on long-term sick leave, they can carry over 4 weeks of unused annual entitlement. This annual leave must be used within 18 months of the date it is carried over.

11.3 An employee may not need to carry over any unused annual leave if they return from sick leave and still have enough of the leave year to use their entitlement.

11.4 An employee can use their annual leave whilst off sick if they:

11.5 It is for the employee to request annual leave while off sick.

11.6 If we approve the leave request:

11.7 After the employee has returned from annual leave, sick leave will recommence if they are still not well enough to return to work.

12.0 Family leave and annual leave entitlement

12.1 Annual leave entitlement continues to accrue during periods of maternity, paternity, adoption, parental or shared parental leave.

12.2 If you are planning a period of family leave that is likely to last beyond the end of the leave year, you should discuss your annual plans with your manager in good time before starting your family leave. Any annual leave entitlement for the year that cannot reasonably be taken before starting your family leave can be carried over to the next annual leave year.

12.3 Any annual leave carried over should be taken immediately before returning to work or within three months of returning to work after the family leave.

13.0 Review of policy

13.1 This Policy will be reviewed every 3 years or upon a change in approach /legislation / regulation – whichever is sooner.