ANNUAL LEAVE POLICY

TRULY SCRUMPTIOUS NURSERY ANNUAL LEAVE POLICY

Please ensure you have completed a holiday request form and submitted it to trulyabsences@outlook.com, This will be either confirmed or denied by Patricia or Brittany. 

Ensure it has Been authorised before you book your annual leave. Any unauthorised leave will be an unauthorised absence.  

The manager will endeavour to ensure that the workload does not prevent employees having the opportunity to take their holiday which they are entitled to, whilst ensuring that the operational needs of the nursery are considered.

The purpose of this policy is to ensure annual leave is managed fairly and consistently across the staff of Truly Scrumptious Early Years Nursery and to inform all employees of the procedure when applying for leave.

General provision

  • Annual leave runs from 1st January to 31 December.
  • At least 2 weeks’ notice preferably 4 weeks is required for holidays, do not book your holiday until your annual leave is authorised.
  • Annual leave entitlement is dependent on days and hours worked per week to the individual employee. Bank holidays will be deducted if it falls on your normal working day. 
  • Additional bank holidays (such as Royal wedding or Diamond Jubilee) will be taken out of your holiday entitlement.
  • Part time employees will accrue leave on a pro-rata basis.
  • For the year of joining and of leaving, the holiday entitlement and public holiday entitlement will be on a pro-rata allocation.
  • Normally, no more than 10 working days may be taken consecutively.  In exceptional circumstances more than 10 days may be taken, subject to the necessary managerial approval.
  • As the nursery closes for Christmas week, you are expected to use your holiday entitlement for this.
  • Leave booked for the following year will be collated and any holidays that clash will be decided in the fairest way. (First come, first serve).
  • Normally, no more than 2 consecutive weeks can be booked off for annual leave as this block other staff from taking holiday (especially in peak times) and also has an impact on your key child and work.
  • Any member of staff who takes annual leave which is unauthorised will be subject to disciplinary action, which may result in dismissal.
  • It is in the interest of individual’s welfare that they should take their full leave entitlement during the year, preferably including one complete break of 2 weeks.
  • Remember to save some holiday days for the end of the year for those unplanned days you may need to take off.

Unpaid annual leave

  • Eligibility for unpaid annual leave is dependent on the member of staff’s performance. Any member of staff on a disciplinary or supervision will not be entitled, as well as any member of staff who is constantly off sick, late.  Exceptions will be staff who are punctual, flexible, good attendance records and up to date with their work. 
  • A maximum of one-week unpaid annual leave may be granted in exceptional circumstances but only with prior management approval.
  • All annual leave must be taken prior to any unpaid annual leave being authorised.
  • Each case will be considered on its own merits and no one case will set a precedent for any future cases that may arise.
  • Annual leave will not accrue during any period of unpaid annual leave. Annual leave entitlement will be reduced in proportion to the amount of unpaid annual leave taken.

Annual leave during school holidays

  • Requests for leave during school holidays will be considered in the same way as all annual leave.

New employees

  • Providing a new employee can prove that have a definite holiday commitment before they were offered a position, in excess of leave entitlement, may take the balance as unpaid leave.

Sickness during annual leave

  • Employees who are ill during their annual leave may in exceptional circumstances be entitled to treat the days of sickness as sickness absence and count them against ssp entitlement.
  • Days of leave lost in this way will only be credited on the production of a doctor’s medical certificate (produced regardless of the length of the sickness).  When leave is taken when the nursery is closed at Christmas, will not be reimbursed in this way.

 

Annual leave entitlement whilst on long term sick

  • Paid annual leave entitlement in relation to employee who are absent on long term sick leave will be paid on the basis of the current interpretation of the Working Time Regulations
  • Individuals will only be eligible to claim back holidays for the current year.  In the event of long-term sickness absence any accrued holiday not taken by the end of the year will be lost and no payment will be made.

Late return from annual leave

  • If for any reason, the employee knows that they will be late returning from annual leave they must contact their manager in person (no texts) and notify of their late return asap.
  • For any absence not accounted for will be treated as unauthorised absence.
  • Failure to inform the manager will render the employee liable to discipline action for authorised absence.  Such disciplinary action may include dismissal.

Religious holidays

  • Employees wishing to observe religious holiday are required to use their annual leave.
  • In the interests of equality those wishing to take leave on the religious festival dates of most significance to them should be given preferential treatment providing these days are booked with as much notice as possible.

Annual leave procedures

  • All requests for annual leave should be made in writing on the appropriate form at least 2-4 week prior, this should be submitted to the PATRICIA & BRITTANY to input into system which will then be considered
  • Managers shall ensure that they make the necessary provisions for adequate coverage for any peak holiday request periods.  However, as the nursery is small, the general rule is one person on holiday at any one time.
  • Only on receipt of an authorised annual holiday request should the employee commit themselves to any leave plans, particularly where a deposit will be paid.  This is standard in many companies and in booking a holiday first without holiday authorisation you are jeopardising your job.
  • Annual leave for the following year will be authorised no earlier than December.
  • If leave is refused, the manager will notify the employee no later than 5 days of the annual leave request being submitted.

 

Authorisation

  • Annual leave can only be taken subject to agreement with the manager, so before any firm commitments are made, employees should discuss any requests for holiday leave with the appropriate manager to ensure that these dates are mutually convenient.
  • It is particularly important to plan ahead and give plenty of notice at busy times or during peak holiday periods, when managers may have an overriding obligation to have sufficient employees available to meet operational requirements and staff to child ratios.
  • The manager will advise employees at the earliest possible opportunity of such times when taking of leave is likely to be difficult.
  • All leave booked and taken must be recorded using the appropriate leave record, and this will help avoid misunderstandings later. 
  • If annual leave has not been granted, and the employee subsequently takes sick leave in this period, the matter will be investigated by the manager.

Cancellation of booked annual leave

  • Cancelling booked leave, particularly at short notice, can lead to difficulties, in the organisation of employees.  A written request for the cancellation of leave is required, and the request will be considered in relation to the staffing.  The request may not automatically be accepted.

Requests for urgent annual leave

  • Where possible, urgent requests for annual leave for special circumstances or problematic situations will be accommodated by negotiation with the manager.

 

Failure to follow procedure

Any leave taken without following the stated procedure and not authorised by the manager will be considered as unauthorised absence.  Pay will be suspended pending a full investigation that may result in formal disciplinary action being taken.

 

Policy created: 23rd August 2016

Reviewed by: Brittany V – Manager – 26/11/2020