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CH33-Staff Leave and Absence Policy

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Staff Leave and Absence Policy

1. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to establish clear guidelines for the management of staff leave and absences at {{org_field_name}}, ensuring that all requests for leave and unplanned absences are handled fairly, consistently, and efficiently while maintaining safe staffing levels and continuity of care for the people we support.

This policy ensures compliance with CQC Fundamental Standards, the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, current employment law and statutory leave and pay entitlements. It provides a structured process for requesting, recording and managing annual leave, sickness absence, compassionate leave, maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental leave, unpaid parental leave, carer’s leave, neonatal care leave and other statutory or contractual leave. It also reflects the statutory sick pay changes effective from 6 April 2026, including payment from the first full day of sickness absence where eligibility criteria are met.

By implementing this policy, {{org_field_name}} aims to:

All employees are required to adhere to this policy to ensure fairness, transparency, and compliance with employment laws and CQC regulations.

2. Scope

This policy applies to:

It covers all types of leave and absence, including:

3. Legal and Regulatory Framework

This policy complies with:

4. Annual Leave

4.1 Entitlement

Employees are entitled to the statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks’ paid annual leave in each leave year (this includes bank holidays if they are normally taken as leave under the contract). Leave is calculated pro-rata in weeks for part-time staff. For irregular hours and part-year workers, for leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024, statutory leave accrues at 12.07% of hours worked (unless the contract provides a more generous entitlement). Some employees may have additional leave entitlements based on their contracts.

Annual leave arrangements must be managed so that staff are able to take their statutory leave while ensuring that safe staffing levels are maintained. Managers must consider dependency levels, planned appointments, activities, medication rounds, moving and handling needs, end-of-life care needs, safeguarding risks and the skill mix required on each shift before approving leave.

Annual leave:

Managers must ensure staff have a reasonable opportunity to take leave and that decisions are recorded.

4.2 Requesting Annual Leave

To request annual leave, employees must:

  1. Submit a written request to their line manager.
  2. Await approval before finalising any plans.
  3. Ensure adequate staffing levels are maintained during requested leave periods.
  4. Avoid booking leave during critical periods unless exceptional circumstances apply.

Requests should be sent to the Registered Manager at {{org_field_registered_manager_email}} or {{org_field_registered_manager_phone}}.

4.3 Holiday pay for irregular hours and part-year workers (leave years from 1 April 2024)

For leave years beginning on or after 1 April 2024, the organisation may use rolled-up holiday pay for workers who meet the definition of irregular hours or part-year workers, where lawful and where the contract and payslips clearly show the holiday pay element. Rolled-up holiday pay must be calculated and itemised in line with current legal requirements and Acas guidance.

5. Sickness Absence

5.1 Reporting Sickness

If an employee is unwell and unable to attend work, they must:

  1. Notify their line manager, nurse in charge or the Registered Manager before their scheduled shift starts, preferably at least two hours in advance unless this is not reasonably practicable.
  2. Give the reason for the absence, the expected duration of absence and whether they have any symptoms or diagnosis that may present an infection prevention and control risk to people using the service, colleagues or visitors.
  3. Confirm whether any planned duties, key worker tasks, medication responsibilities, appointments, handovers or allocated care tasks need urgent reallocation.
  4. Keep their manager updated during the absence, including any change in expected return date.
  5. Follow any infection prevention and control advice, occupational health advice or medical advice before returning to work.

Failure to report sickness absence properly may result in disciplinary action.

5.2 Certification Requirements

5.3 Sick Pay Entitlement

Employees may be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), subject to statutory eligibility criteria.

From 6 April 2026, SSP is payable from the first full day of sickness absence where the employee meets the relevant eligibility criteria. The previous three waiting days no longer apply for new qualifying sickness absences starting on or after 6 April 2026.

From 6 April 2026, the Lower Earnings Limit for SSP has been removed. Eligible employees may qualify for SSP regardless of their weekly earnings. SSP will be calculated in accordance with current statutory requirements, which provide that the amount payable is the lower of:

SSP rates and calculation rules may change annually. {{org_field_name}} will apply the current statutory rate and HMRC/GOV.UK guidance in force at the time of the absence rather than relying on a fixed rate written into this policy.

Some employees may receive contractual sick pay, depending on their contract of employment. Contractual sick pay includes SSP unless the contract states otherwise. Where contractual sick pay is provided, it will be administered in line with the employee’s contract, this policy and any applicable statutory requirements.

Long-term sickness absence will be managed supportively and fairly. This may include welfare meetings, occupational health advice, risk assessments, consideration of reasonable adjustments, phased return arrangements and review of whether the employee remains fit to undertake their role safely.

Managers must ensure that sickness absence is recorded accurately and that any staffing shortfall arising from sickness absence is escalated and managed promptly to maintain safe care.

5.4 Transitional SSP Arrangements for Absences Spanning 6 April 2026

Where a sickness absence started before 6 April 2026 and continued on or after 6 April 2026, the organisation will apply the statutory transitional rules in force at the time. Managers must seek payroll or HR advice where an absence spans 6 April 2026 to ensure SSP is calculated correctly.

Where an employee returns to work after 6 April 2026 and later has a new sickness absence, SSP will be assessed under the post-6 April 2026 rules, even where the absence may be linked to an earlier period of incapacity.

5.5 Infection Prevention and Control

Because {{org_field_name}} provides care and support to people who may be at increased risk from infection, employees must not attend work if they are unfit to work or if attending work would create an avoidable infection risk.

Employees must inform their manager promptly if they have symptoms of infectious illness, including vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, respiratory symptoms, unexplained rash or any confirmed infectious condition. The manager will consider current public health guidance, infection prevention and control guidance, occupational health advice and service risk assessments before confirming when the employee may return to work.

Where absence or exclusion from work is required for infection prevention and control reasons, pay will be managed in accordance with the employee’s contract, SSP rules and any applicable statutory or organisational arrangements.

6. Compassionate and Emergency Leave

6.1 Compassionate Leave

Employees may be granted up to five days of paid compassionate leave following the death of an immediate family member, subject to the employee’s contract, individual circumstances and approval by the Registered Manager. Additional paid or unpaid leave may be granted at the manager’s discretion.

Where an employee suffers the death of a child under 18 or a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy, they are entitled to up to 2 weeks’ statutory parental bereavement leave, which can be taken within 56 weeks of the date of death/stillbirth. Eligible employees may also qualify for Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay. This statutory entitlement applies regardless of any discretionary/contractual compassionate leave offered above.

6.2 Emergency Leave for Dependents

Employees may take reasonable unpaid leave to deal with emergencies involving dependents (e.g., a sick child, partner, or elderly relative). This should be reported to the Registered Manager at {{org_field_registered_manager_email}} or {{org_field_registered_manager_phone}} as soon as possible.

7. Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, Shared Parental, Parental, Carer’s and Neonatal Care Leave

Employees are entitled to statutory family-related leave and pay in accordance with current employment law, their contract of employment and relevant GOV.UK guidance. Employees should notify HR or the Registered Manager as early as possible so that leave, pay, rota planning and safe staffing arrangements can be managed appropriately.

Managers must ensure that family-related leave is planned and recorded appropriately and that any impact on rota cover, skill mix, continuity of care and safe staffing is reviewed in advance wherever possible.

8. Discretionary Unpaid Leave and Career Breaks

Employees may apply for discretionary unpaid leave or a career break, subject to managerial approval. Each request will be considered fairly and consistently, taking into account:

Requests should be submitted in writing to the Registered Manager at {{org_field_registered_manager_email}} or {{org_field_registered_manager_phone}}.

Discretionary unpaid leave and career breaks are separate from statutory leave entitlements. Where a statutory right applies, the organisation will apply the relevant statutory rules.

9. Managing Persistent or Unauthorised Absences

9.1 Monitoring Absence Levels

Frequent, patterned or prolonged absences will be monitored to:

Absence monitoring must be carried out fairly, consistently and without discrimination.

9.2 Unauthorised Absence and Disciplinary Action

If an employee is absent without prior approval and without following the absence reporting procedure, the absence may be treated as unauthorised. Unauthorised absence can create risks to safe staffing, continuity of care and the wellbeing of people using the service.

Managers must make reasonable efforts to contact the employee and confirm the reason for absence before deciding on further action. Where there is no satisfactory explanation, or where absence reporting procedures are repeatedly breached, the matter may be managed under the organisation’s disciplinary procedure.

Repeated or excessive absence without valid reason may result in formal action, up to and including dismissal, in line with the disciplinary procedure, employment law and the employee’s contractual rights.

9.3 Staffing Escalation and Continuity of Care

To meet Regulation 18, managers must ensure that approving leave and managing absences does not compromise safe staffing, people’s assessed needs, continuity of care or the safe running of the service.

Before approving leave, and when responding to unplanned absence, the manager must consider:

Where a staffing shortfall arises, the manager on duty must follow the service escalation arrangements. This may include redeployment, use of bank staff, agency cover, adjustment of non-essential duties, senior management escalation and prioritisation of essential care and safety tasks.

All actions taken to manage staffing shortfalls must be recorded. In line with Regulation 17, absence trends, leave patterns, agency use and staffing shortfalls must be reviewed through governance systems to identify risks, improve planning and maintain accurate records.

10. Return to Work Process

Employees returning from sickness absence must complete a return-to-work process with their line manager or the Registered Manager. This should normally take place as soon as reasonably practicable after the employee returns.

The return-to-work discussion must include:

Where applicable, occupational health advice may be sought to ensure the employee is fit to return to work safely and to identify reasonable adjustments or support.

Return-to-work records must be completed accurately and stored confidentially.

11. Equality, Disability and Reasonable Adjustments

{{org_field_name}} will manage leave and absence fairly, consistently and without discrimination. Managers must consider whether an employee’s absence may be related to a disability, pregnancy, maternity, menopause, long-term health condition, caring responsibilities or another protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.

Where an employee may be disabled under the Equality Act 2010, reasonable adjustments must be considered. These may include, depending on the circumstances and service needs:

Reasonable adjustments must be considered alongside the provider’s duty to maintain safe staffing and safe care for people using the service.

12. Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed annually or sooner if there are changes to employment law, statutory pay and leave rules, CQC regulations, CQC guidance, Acas guidance, HMRC/GOV.UK guidance or organisational needs.

The Registered Manager or nominated senior person will ensure that this policy remains aligned with current legislation, CQC Fundamental Standards, safe staffing requirements and good governance expectations.

Responsible Person: {{org_field_registered_manager_first_name}} {{org_field_registered_manager_last_name}}
Reviewed on: {{last_update_date}}
Next Review Date: {{next_review_date}}
Copyright © {{current_year}} – {{org_field_name}}. All rights reserved.

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