Annual Holidays Policy

Policy Statement

It is {{org_field_name}}’s policy that employees should be given paid holiday every year. Its purpose is to provide a period of leisure time during which employees can have a break from work, relax, and therefore return to their jobs refreshed. Employees should take the holiday to which they are entitled; managers should ensure that the workload does not prevent this and also that the needs of {{org_field_name}} are taken into account.

Procedure

Obtaining approval

All annual holiday dates must receive prior management approval.
Employees wishing to take part of their annual holiday entitlement should follow the procedure set out below.
a. All requests for annual holiday should be made in writing on the appropriate form at the earliest reasonable opportunity, and in any event no later than weeks before the required start date. Absence Request forms should be passed to for approval.
b. will consider the application having regard to the needs of {{org_field_name}} and the rules on annual holiday set out below.
c. A copy of the form marked “approved” or “not approved”, with the reasons for refusal where applicable, should be signed by and returned to the employee.
d. Employees should not commit themselves to any holiday plans until they have received a signed copy of the form approving their holiday request. No responsibility will be taken for any holiday deposit paid or other losses incurred as a result of a failure to comply with this aspect of the procedure.
e. {{org_field_name}} will retain one copy of the form to update its records and effect any necessary pay adjustments.
f. In the event of an employee disputing management’s decision, {{org_field_name}}’s formal grievance procedure should be used.
Once approval for annual holiday has been given, it will not normally be withdrawn. Where possible, {{org_field_name}} will give employees notice of cancellation of an annual leave request (by giving notice of at least the same length as the requested holiday period). However, there may be occasions when the needs of {{org_field_name}} prohibit the possibility of any notice being given and, in those circumstances, {{org_field_name}} reserves the right to withdraw its approval. Every effort will be made to minimise any inconvenience or hardship for the employee.
{{org_field_name}}’s right to withdraw its approval of holiday is subject to the provisions of the Working Time Regulations 1998, amended by the Working Time (Amendment) Regulations 2007, which stipulate that employees must be allowed to take no less than 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday each year.

Carrying holiday over

{{org_field_name}}’s holiday year runs from _________ to_________. All holiday entitlement for the year must normally be taken within it. No payment in lieu will be made for any holiday not taken, other than in respect of holiday (over and above the statutory entitlement of 5.6 weeks) not taken as a result of the business needs of thecare home.
Employees may, provided they have obtained the manager’s prior approval, carry forward any days of their holiday entitlement which are in excess of the first 28 days to the next holiday year in circumstances where the business needs of {{org_field_name}} have prevented them from taking all their holiday entitlement in the current year. Such holiday must be taken no later than _________ after the end of the holiday year to which the unused holiday relates.
If employees have been prevented due to sickness absence from taking their full holiday entitlement in the current holiday year, carry-forward of up to four weeks accrued and untaken holiday entitlement to the next holiday year will be permitted. However, employees should note that they must take any accrued holiday by reason of sickness absence within 18 months from the end of the leave year in which it accrued or risk losing it.

Entitlement

Employees are entitled to _________ days’ leave per year (including/excluding public holidays).

New employees

Where employees join {{org_field_name}} part way through the holiday year, their entitlement to annual leave will be proportionate to the amount of time left in the holiday year (with any fraction of a day rounded up to a whole day). No service with any other employer will count for the purposes of assessing entitlement to annual leave.
During the first year of employment with {{org_field_name}}, the amount of annual leave that the employee may actually take at any time is limited to the amount accrued at that time. The amount accrues, monthly in advance, at the rate of one-twelfth of the annual entitlement per month (rounded up to the nearest half-day).
Notwithstanding the usual rules on accrual for new employees, every effort will be made to meet their needs in respect of commitments to holidays already made. New employees must tell their manager within _________ of joining {{org_field_name}} of pre-arranged holiday commitments (or preferably inform {{org_field_name}} prior to the commencement of employment).
Where holiday arranged prior to commencement of work with {{org_field_name}} exceeds the new employee’s annual holiday entitlement, unpaid holiday up to a maximum of _________ weeks may be granted at the discretion of the new employee’s manager.

Holiday rules

The following rules apply to all holidays (subject to the discretion of managers).
a. Annual holiday may not be taken at the following times of the year due to business needs:
b. No more than members of the same team may take holiday at any one time. Where there are conflicting holiday requirements, priority will be given to the employee whose request was received first.
c. No more than _ weeks of annual holiday may normally be taken at any one time. Employees wishing to exceed this limit must make their request to management at least _ months in advance.
d. Any employee who takes annual holiday which has not been previously approved may be subject to disciplinary action, which includes dismissal.

Religious holidays

Employees who wish to observe religious holidays, which do not coincide with public holidays in England and Wales, or Scotland/Northern Ireland, are required to use their normal annual holiday entitlement or take unpaid leave. Every effort will be made to accommodate such requests, which will be refused only in exceptional circumstances.

Illness during holiday

Employees who are ill during a period of annual leave or are prevented from taking their planned annual leave because of sickness may, on request, be entitled to treat the days of sickness as sickness absence and count them against sick pay entitlement. They must satisfy {{org_field_name}} that the illness was genuine and must provide a doctor’s medical certificate, regardless of the length of the sickness. Days of annual holiday lost through sickness will be replaced on request at a later date, the timing of which will be subject to management approval.
Statutory paid annual leave accrues during long-term sickness absence. In certain circumstances, employees who are absent for reasons of incapacity for long periods may be entitled to take paid annual leave, of up to four weeks, before they return to work. Any employee to whom this applies should contact their manager.

Late return from holiday

If, for any reason, employees know that they will be late returning from holiday, they must contact {{org_field_name}} and notify their late return, and the reason for it, as soon as possible. Failure to do so will render the employee liable to disciplinary action for unauthorised absence. Such disciplinary action may include dismissal. In any event, the reasons for the late return will be investigated and could be determined to be misconduct — in which case disciplinary action may be taken.

Termination

Employees who are working out their notice period will only be guaranteed holiday during that time if:
a. the holiday was booked prior to the time notice was given, or
b. the notice period straddles two holiday years and the employee would not have taken their minimum statutory entitlement in the first holiday year if they did not take some holiday in the notice period. In so far as this situation applies, the employee will only be guaranteed sufficient holiday to enable the organisation to comply with its obligations under the Working Time Regulations.
Holiday requests submitted during the notice period will be approved where possible, but it may not be practicable to approve such requests because of the need to complete outstanding work or hand over to a successor. {{org_field_name}} therefore reserves the right to refuse requests for leave made during the notice period (subject to the requirement to comply with the Working Time Regulations).
Outstanding holiday which has been accrued but not taken by an employee on termination will be calculated at the rate of _ days per completed calendar month of service in the holiday year. A payment will be made in lieu of outstanding holiday which has been accrued but not taken, which will be calculated at the employee’s normal rate of pay, and such payment will be subject to deductions for tax and National Insurance contributions.
{{org_field_name}} reserves the right to tell the employee to take some or all outstanding accrued holiday entitlement during the notice period, rather than making a payment in lieu of termination.
Where, with {{org_field_name}}’s approval, the employee has, in previous years, set aside days of annual holiday for use in future years but has not in fact used them, they will be entitled to receive payment in lieu of those days; such pay to be calculated in accordance with clause 3 above.
Where annual holiday taken exceeds the number of days which have been accrued at the date of termination, {{org_field_name}} will deduct the appropriate sum from the employee’s final salary.
{{org_field_name}} reserves the right to withhold accrued holiday pay (other than that relating to statutory annual leave) from employees who are dismissed for gross misconduct, or who leave {{org_field_name}} without giving their full period of contractual notice.

Responsible Person: {{org_field_registered_manager_first_name}} {{org_field_registered_manager_last_name}}

Reviewed on: {{last_update_date}}

DS11. Annual Holidays