Would you like to increase your existing annual leave entitlement by up to 5 days and spread the cost over a year?
Our Buying Annual Leave scheme allows you to do this…
Whilst the Council’s annual leave provisions are widely recognised as generous, it is acknowledged that there may instances where employees would wish additional annual leave.
As part of the Council’s commitment to support you to achieve a work-life balance, HR are pleased to continue the ‘Buying Additional Annual Leave’ scheme – originally launched last year.
Enabling colleagues to purchase additional annual leave up to 5 days (pro-rata part time employees) and spread the cost over a full year, each individual request is subject to Service approval and agreement with your manager must be obtained before you progress with your application.
Apply before the deadline on 14 October
To take advantage of the scheme, which is open to non-teaching employees, applications to buy additional annual leave must be made between Thursday 1 September and midnight on Friday 14 October. Employees are invited to make their submission on Connects using the E-Request Form.
Further information
After the closing date for submissions, a report will be sent to the Service for consideration, decisions will be recorded on the report and returned to Employee Services – Resourcing. All approvals to buy annual leave under the terms of the scheme are subject to the needs of the service and will be considered within 14 days of the service receiving the request report.
Employees who do not have access to the form can phone the Employee Services Team on 01294 324690 (Option 2) who will complete the application form on their behalf and submit for approval.
It is important to note that, by completing and submitting the application form to buy annual leave, the form will also act as your consent to the applicable salary adjustment* required if the leave is approved. It is your responsibility to ascertain how much the deduction from your salary will be before making the application to buy leave.
So, how is the additional annual leave calculated and deducted?
Payroll will make deductions direct from your pay over the leave year. The deductions taken from your pay over the leave year will be based on a standard calculation applied to all employees (full time, part time, term time, condensed hours).
Employees must assess the impact on any existing deductions from pay they may have before making an application to buy leave.
For more information on your standard Annual Leave Entitlement, visit the Annual and Special Leave webpage on Connects.
If you are interested in purchasing additional annual leave, please discuss this with your line Manager first who can help to answer any further questions you may have before submitting your application.
*An example of how the calculation works is as follows:
- Number of additional hours x hourly rate = total deduction
- Total deduction / number of pays in calendar year = deduction each pay period
For example, an employee on an hourly rate of £10.90, who work 35 hours per week and wishes to buy 5 days leave, would have a gross deduction of £381.50 taken over the year.
This is calculated as follows: 35 hours x £10.90= £381.50
This equates to:
- (£381.50/52) £7.34 per week
- (£381.50/ 26) £14.67 4. per fortnight
- (£381.50/12) £31.79 per month
For more information on the scheme and guidance for managers, please visit the Buying Annual Leave webpage on Connects and read the HR Guide – Buying Annual Leave.