UNCLASSIFIED
SPECIAL LEAVE POLICYThis instruction applies to :- / Reference :-
All staff directly employed by NOMS (including HMPS) / AI 10/2010
PSI 19/2010
Issue Date / Effective Date
Implementation date / Expiry Date
03 March 2010 / 22 March 2010 / 21 March 2013
Issued on the authority of / NOMS Agency Board
For action by / Directors of Offender Management, Regional Managers Custodial Services, Governors, Heads of Group, HR Shared Services.
For information / All staff in NOMS HQ and prison establishments.
Contact / Shared Services HR Contact Centre
' 0845 010 3504 (VPN 7190 3504)
Associated documents
Replaces the following documents which are hereby cancelled :-
Staff Handbook sections 13.1 – 13.10; 13.25 – 13.27; 13.36 – 13.49; 13.58 – 13.61; 14.13
Audit/monitoring :
Compliance with this Instruction will be monitored through local HR Health-checks, owned and driven by HR Business Partners
PSI 19-2010 & AI 10/2010 Issue date 03/03/10
UNCLASSIFIED
CONTENTS
Section / Title / Applicable to1 / Executive summary / All staff
2 / Special Leave Policy / All staff
Purpose and Eligibility Criteria / All staff
Applying for and approval of Special Leave / All staff
Conditions applying whilst of Special Leave / All staff
Auxiliary and Reserve Forces / All staff
Cadet Forces / All staff
Jury Service / All staff
Attendance in Court as a Witness in an official capacity / All staff
Attendance in Court as a Witness in a private capacity / All staff
Political activities / All staff
Time off for Trade Union Activities, Employee Relations or Health and Safety Activities / All staff
Political Agents / All staff
School Holidays / All staff
SPECIAL LEAVE POLICY
1. Executive summary
Background
1.1 This Instruction sets out policy on when Special Leave may be granted. It applies to all those directly employed by NOMS (including HMPS), and replaces all previously issued guidance on this subject.
1.2 The purpose of this policy is to:
Ø Support compliance with relevant employment legislation and to make managers and employees aware of what arrangements are available for them to take time off in special circumstances;
Ø Highlight where there is a statutory duty to consider requests for specific types of leave, and the consequences of not doing so;
Ø Recognise that effective practices to promote work life balance will have benefits for employees and for NOMS, and support the Government’s commitment to work-life balance. Special leave can be used by employees to strike a balance between their work and outside commitments.
Desired outcomes
1.3 This Instruction aims to ensure that:
· common minimum standards for Special Leave are maintained across the estate; and
· decisions are based on the merits of the individual case and are free from any unlawful bias. All special leave policy and procedures must be legally compliant and applied fairly and consistently to all staff. This applies to all stages of the process including entitlement, application, decision making and implementation.
Application
1.4 All staff must be familiar with all sections of the special leave policy.
1.5 All managers with line management responsibility for special leave processes are required to read and follow all sections of the special leave policy as required.
Mandatory actions
1.6 All staff must be aware of the mandatory actions that apply to employees granted special leave.
1.7 All line managers responsible for the management of special leave must comply with the mandatory actions in all sections of this instruction when considering special leave requests.
1.8 Governors and Heads of Group must ensure that the mandatory actions in all sections of this instruction are complied with.
Resource Impact
1.9 There will be no direct resource impact on staff in NOMS headquarters or in prison establishments resulting from this Instruction as there has been no fundamental change to existing policy.
Contacts
For further in formation about this PSI please contact:
Shared Services HR Contact Centre
' 0845 010 3504 (VPN 7190 3504)
(signed)
Robin Wilkinson
Director of Human Resources
SPECIAL LEAVE POLICY
Purpose and Eligibility Criteria
2.1 Special leave is a general term to describe time off, either paid or unpaid, which may be granted in addition to annual leave. Special leave may be used in a variety of circumstances including:
Ø to allow staff to take time off for the purpose of dealing with short-term domestic problems or to allow for satisfactory arrangements to be made for coping with longer-term problems, including
Ø death of a dependant, partner or close relative
Ø breakdown of care for children, elderly relatives or dependants
Ø compassionate or domestic reason or crisis;
Ø to support employees who are active participants in the communities in which they live through voluntary/public duties;
Ø For non-domestic reasons including:
Ø to attend official meetings of Civil Service societies
Ø to participate in certain sporting events,
Ø to attend a Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award Ceremony
Ø to attend special Royal events
Ø taking part in an official activity organised by NOMS or MOJ;
Ø to facilitate a permanent transfer;
2.2 A special leave Framework is available on My Services. This provides examples of the type and amount of leave that may be granted under each of the categories listed above and whether it should be paid or unpaid. The categories and limits set in the Framework should normally be applied although, particularly in the case of leave requests for short term domestic problems, managers have discretion to agree what time off is appropriate depending on the individual circumstances of the case.
2.3 Special leave without pay may be granted in a range of circumstances including to serve as a political agent (see paragraph 2.28 below) or during school holidays (see paragraphs 2.29 – 2.30 below). Special leave without pay may also be granted for other personal reasons at the discretion of line management. In all cases of unpaid special leave staff should be made aware of the effect of taking such leave on other conditions of Service (see paragraphs 2.10 – 2.15).
2.4 Staff will also be given time off with pay for a range of other reasons including
Ø auxiliary, reserve and cadet forces see paragraphs 2.16 -2.20
Ø jury service see paragraphs 2.21-2.23
Ø appearing as a witness in Court see paragraphs 2.24 -2.25
Ø parliamentary candidature see paragraph 2.26
Ø for Trade Union Duties or Health and Safety activities see paragraphs 2.27
2.5 For staff attending further education sponsored by the Service time off with pay may be granted to attend occasional daytime tutorials, pre-examination revision, examinations or complete assessed assignments. Further details of time off which may be granted is given on the Training Services website. Special provisions apply to staff under the age of 18 who must be given the opportunity to attend suitable day classes for one day a week at a college of further education or similar institution until the end of the term in which they reach the age of 18.
This opportunity may be:
Ø deferred by agreement with the individual; or
Ø extended at management discretion beyond the normal entitlement until the end of the session or course of study, including any examinations.
Applying for and approval of Special Leave
2.6 Applications for special leave should normally be made in writing in advance. However, where this is not possible an application can be made orally in advance and then retrospectively in writing. Governors and Heads of Group must ensure that all leave requests are dealt with fairly and consistently and establish suitable arrangements to monitor and record all outcome decisions. See My Services for more information.
2.7 While there is no absolute right to special leave Employment Legislation allows employees the right to take reasonable, unpaid time off work to deal with certain unexpected or sudden emergencies/domestic crisis. Managers should make every effort to accommodate reasonable special leave requests. All requests should be treated sympathetically and due consideration should be given to the particular circumstances of the employee.
2.8 Applications for special leave must be considered on their merits taking into account that there should be no potential conflict of interest with an individual’s day-to-day activities.
2.9 In certain cases such as those involving domestic responsibilities a temporary working pattern variation may be granted as an alternative to special leave without pay if that is preferable to both NOMS and the member of staff concerned. Any such request in these instances should be sympathetically considered.
Conditions applying whilst on Special Leave
2.10 Managers must keep in touch and maintain contact with staff who are temporarily absent from work in accordance with the Service’s Keeping in Touch Scheme.
2.11 Employees must keep line management informed of any developments while on special leave and notify their manager immediately if they are not able to return to work on the agreed date. Failure to do so may result in disciplinary action being taken which in turn could result in dismissal.
2.12 If there are any reasonable grounds for suspecting special leave has been misused, or an abuse of policy has occurred, this will be investigated and may result in disciplinary action including the financial recovery of any pay granted whilst on special leave.
2.13 In general, unpaid special leave does not count as reckonable service for the purposes of pensions or accrual of entitlements. Although unpaid special leave does not accrue benefits, those already accumulated are preserved and built upon when employees return to paid employment. Other terms and conditions continue to apply to employees on special leave for example limitations on engaging in political activities and taking up outside employment.
2.14 Employees working reduced hours are allowed paid special leave proportionate to the number of days/hours they work.
2.15 Staff who are granted time off work with pay must not claim or accept attendance fees or any compensation from the other organisation other than for travel and subsistence except members of the Reserve Forces, Territorial Army or Cadet Forces who can accept payments which result from such service.
Auxiliary and Reserve Forces
2.16 Staff who are members of the Reserve Forces may be granted special leave with pay for periods of training. Details of time off which may be given is provided in the Special Leave Framework available on My Services. Part-time members of staff may be granted special leave but Civil Service pay received during the training period should not exceed the pay due for the equivalent period of part-time employment.
2.17 All applications for special leave for Reserve Forces training should be made at least two weeks in advance and staff must state whether they wish all or part of a training period not covered by special leave with pay to count against their annual leave allowance.
Cadet Forces
2.18 Subject to operational needs up to 5 days special leave with pay in any one leave year may be granted to permanent full time members of staff who are members in the Cadet Forces (e.g. Air Training Corps; Sea Cadet Corps) to attend camps or special instructional courses provided they are held under naval, military or air forces auspices.
2.19 Any pay, as distinct from allowances instead of accommodation or of rations, during attendance at a cadet camp or course for which special leave with pay is approved will be deducted from the member of staff’s Civil Service pay. Employees who work reduced hours are entitled to special leave with pay however any Civil Service pay received during the period of training should not exceed the pay they would be due for an equivalent period of reduced hours employment.
2.20 Staff who are instructors or officers in the Cadet Forces may be granted the same special leave conditions as members but any pay or allowances received during special leave with pay will not be deducted from their Civil Service pay.
Jury Service
2.21 Employees required for jury service will be allowed paid special leave for the entire period they attend court and would otherwise be attending work.
2.22 Employees released early from jury service must inform their manager immediately, or report to their normal place of work at the earliest opportunity. Failure to do so may lead to the absence being treated as unauthorised with stoppage of pay implemented and possible disciplinary action.
2.23 Staff must not claim for loss of earnings while on special leave with pay for Jury Service. Employees can, however, claim other financial loss incurred as a direct result of jury service (such as additional childcare costs) up to a daily maximum, and for travel and subsistence.
Attendance in court as a witness in an official capacity
2.24 An employee who is called upon in his/her official capacity to give evidence in criminal or civil proceedings, in a coroner's court, or to attend another outside body as a witness or in some other capacity, is regarded as being on official duty. In addition to normal pay he/she is entitled to travelling and subsistence allowances and to payment for travelling time. Any sums recovered from the outside sources are repayable to the Service.
Attendance in court as a witness in a private capacity
2.25 An employee, who in his/her private capacity appears as a witness in a criminal or coroner's court, may be granted special leave with pay and may retain any travelling and subsistence allowances received from the court. He/she should not claim, or accept, any compensation for loss of earnings. An employee appearing as a witness in civil proceedings in a private capacity may be granted special leave without pay or annual leave. He/she may retain any travelling and subsistence allowance received from the court and, where special leave without pay has been given, any compensation for loss of earnings or other sums payable by the court or any party to the action.
Political activities
2.26 Staff who are free to stand for Parliament may be allowed one calendar month's special leave, with pay, during the period of an election. This special leave cannot, however, continue beyond the date on which resignation takes effect. For further information on political activities see policy on engaging in Outside Activities.