Annual Leave Policy Template UK

ANNUAL LEAVE POLICY [Company Name] Effective date: [Date] Review date: [Date] Policy owner: [HR / Name] ───────────────────────────────────────── 1. PURPOSE This policy sets out [Company Name]'s approach to annual leave. It applies to all employees (including part-time and fixed-term employees) and explains entitlements, how to request leave, and how leave interacts with other absence types. ───────────────────────────────────────── 2. ANNUAL LEAVE ENTITLEMENT 2.1 Full-time employees Full-time employees (working 5 days per week) are entitled to [X] days of paid annual leave per holiday year, [including / excluding] UK bank holidays. The statutory minimum is 28 days (including 8 bank holidays) or 20 days (excluding bank holidays) per year. [Company Name] offers [X] days as stated in your contract of employment. 2.2 Part-time employees Part-time employees receive a pro-rata entitlement based on the number of days or hours worked per week. For example, an employee working 3 days per week receives 3/5 of the full-time entitlement. 2.3 Zero hours and variable-hours workers Workers on zero hours or variable-hours arrangements accrue leave at a rate of 12.07% of hours worked in each pay period. 2.4 New starters Employees who join part-way through the leave year will receive a pro-rata entitlement for the remainder of the year. ───────────────────────────────────────── 3. BANK AND PUBLIC HOLIDAYS [OPTION A] Bank holidays are included within the annual leave entitlement stated above. [OPTION B] Employees receive [X] days' leave in addition to UK bank holidays. Part-time employees receive a pro-rata bank holiday allowance. The UK bank holidays for England and Wales are published annually at GOV.UK. Scotland and Northern Ireland may have different bank holiday dates. ───────────────────────────────────────── 4. HOLIDAY YEAR The company's holiday year runs from [1 April] to [31 March] / [1 January] to [31 December]. [Adjust to match your business.] ───────────────────────────────────────── 5. BOOKING ANNUAL LEAVE 5.1 Notice requirements Employees should give at least [twice the length of the leave requested] as notice. For example, to take one week off, employees should give at least two weeks' notice. Longer periods of leave require proportionally more notice. 5.2 How to request leave Leave must be requested via [TimeTally / the HR system / in writing to your line manager]. Verbal requests alone are not sufficient. 5.3 Approval Leave is subject to management approval and operational requirements. We aim to respond to requests within [5 working days]. Approval cannot be guaranteed and may be declined if insufficient cover is available. 5.4 Blackout periods Certain periods may be designated as blackout periods during which annual leave cannot be taken (e.g. peak trading periods, end-of-year close). Employees will be given at least [8 weeks'] notice of any blackout period. ───────────────────────────────────────── 6. CARRY-OVER OF ANNUAL LEAVE 6.1 Standard position Employees are expected to take their full annual leave entitlement during the leave year. Leave that is not taken by the end of the leave year will normally be forfeited. 6.2 Permitted carry-over [Company Name] permits employees to carry over up to [X] days of leave into the following leave year. Any carried-over leave must be taken by [31 March / 3 months after the start of the new leave year] and will otherwise be forfeited. 6.3 Carry-over due to illness Employees who are unable to take leave due to sickness may carry over the statutory minimum of 4 weeks (20 days for full-time employees) to the following leave year. This leave must be taken within 15 months of the end of the leave year in which it was accrued. Employees should notify HR as soon as reasonably practicable. 6.4 Carry-over due to parental leave Employees returning from maternity, paternity, adoption, or shared parental leave may carry over any untaken statutory leave into the following leave year. ───────────────────────────────────────── 7. ANNUAL LEAVE AND SICKNESS 7.1 Falling ill during annual leave If an employee falls ill during a period of approved annual leave, they may request to convert those days to sick leave, provided they: (a) notify their line manager as soon as reasonably practicable using the standard absence notification procedure, and (b) provide a self-certification form or fit note covering the period. Days converted to sick leave may be rescheduled as annual leave at a later date. 7.2 Annual leave during sick leave Employees may choose to take annual leave during a period of sick leave. This must be requested by the employee — [Company Name] will not require employees to use annual leave to cover a period of genuine sickness absence. 7.3 Bank holidays during sick leave If a bank holiday falls during a period of sick leave, the day will be treated as a bank holiday (not a sick day). The employee retains the bank holiday entitlement to use at another time. ───────────────────────────────────────── 8. ANNUAL LEAVE ON TERMINATION On termination of employment, employees will receive a payment in lieu of any accrued but untaken statutory annual leave. If an employee has taken more leave than they have accrued at the date of termination, [Company Name] may deduct the equivalent value from final pay, subject to the terms of the employment contract. Employees may be required to take any outstanding annual leave during their notice period. ───────────────────────────────────────── 9. ANNUAL LEAVE DURING OTHER TYPES OF ABSENCE Annual leave continues to accrue during: • Sick leave (statutory minimum) • Maternity, paternity, and adoption leave • Shared parental leave • Other statutory leave Annual leave does not accrue during unpaid leave (e.g. career breaks) unless otherwise agreed in writing. ───────────────────────────────────────── 10. MANAGER RESPONSIBILITIES Managers are responsible for: • Ensuring adequate cover is maintained at all times • Approving or declining leave requests within [5] working days • Monitoring team leave balances throughout the year • Proactively encouraging employees who have not taken sufficient leave to do so before the year end • Ensuring this policy is applied consistently and fairly within their team ───────────────────────────────────────── 11. QUESTIONS AND DISPUTES If an employee has questions about their annual leave entitlement or disagrees with a decision made under this policy, they should raise the matter with their line manager in the first instance. If unresolved, it may be escalated to HR. ───────────────────────────────────────── This policy will be reviewed annually. It does not form part of employees' contracts of employment and may be amended from time to time. [Company Name] | HR Department | [Date]