Purchase of Annual Leave Scheme

The following guidance document outlines the scheme:

• Purchase of Annual Leave Scheme

You can also see a calculation example here.

If you wish to apply to purchase additional annual leave, please complete the  POAL form, held in the My Forms section of MyHR. Welcome - MyHR (abdn.ac.uk)

Guidance for leavers and authorisers on using the form is available here: My Forms User Guide

Further info on MyHR is available here: MyHR | StaffNet | The University of Aberdeen (abdn.ac.uk)

You have the opportunity to make one request per annual leave year and the form should be submitted to your line manager by the following dates:

• 30 September, for 1 or 2 weeks leave in the next leave year OR
• 31 March, 1 week of leave in the remainder of the leave year

N.B. For staff who work part time this would be pro-rata e.g. if you work 3 days per week then 1 week = 3 days

*Managers should consider requests for additional leave fairly and consistently. Managers should consider the requirements and key objectives of the role held by the staff member, and whether the additional leave may impact on the ability to deliver them. The specific arrangements will need to be reviewed on a case by case basis. It may be appropriate to consider adjustments to timescales or workload where specific pre-determined objectives are deemed to be unachievable as a result of additional leave being taken. Managers would then need to consider whether such a delay or adjustment is practical for the Department.

Please note, additional leave should not be covered by overtime or others working additional hours.

Requests should only be declined where business reasons mean that the request cannot be accommodated. If, after due consideration, a request has to be turned down, the reasons for doing so should be given to the member of staff.

It is recommended that forms are approved promptly after receipt to ensure that submission deadlines are not missed.

This is a scheme which is available to all staff and which allows them to buy additional annual leave. Staff agree to reduce their salary and the University will provide up to 2 weeks additional leave each year, subject to the operational requirements of the University which must remain the priority. The additional leave purchased is paid for through a reduction in salary equivalent to the salary for the number of weeks leave being taken; each week being considered based on 7/365th of annual salary.

Complete the Purchase of Additional Leave form and ideally submit it to your line manager one month prior to the start of the annual leave year or by end February for requests from 1 April.

Note that by completing and submitting the request for additional leave form that, if approved, this form (together with contractual provision) also constitutes your consent to any applicable salary adjustment.

Yes, you can request 1 week or 2 weeks additional leave in the full leave year and 1 week in the half leave year (max 2 weeks for full-time staff, pro-rata for part-time / part-year staff, ie if you work 4 days per week = max 8 days).

No, you can take the additional leave any time you wish to, subject to the usual approval arrangements.

Applications should ideally be submitted to your line manager no later than one month before the start of each leave year i.e. by 31 August or by 28 February for requests effective from 1 April.

The cut-off date for applications is 30 September or 31 March for applications effective from 1 April.

Applications should ideally be submitted to your line manager no later than one month before the start of each leave year i.e. by end December or by 30 June for requests effective from 1 August.

The cut-off date for applications is 31 January or 31 July for applications effective from 1 August.

Approval of additional annual leave is at the discretion of the relevant Line Manager and is subject to the operational needs of the University. Your line manager will assess the operational feasibility of granting the request. This will include a full assessment of whether or not the additional annual leave can be accommodated within the employee’s annual leave year, taking into account the operational needs of the department.

There is no automatic right to additional annual leave. However, every application will be fully considered on its merits.

Additional annual leave should be applied for and taken in the line with the normal annual leave procedures and the days taken recorded and authorised in the normal way.

The additional annual leave can be taken at any time during the leave year (or half year) and does not have to be taken as a single block. The additional part of the leave is taken first.

Once an agreement has been entered into it will be valid for the relevant leave year. An employee can only withdraw from the scheme during the year in exceptional circumstances as per HMRC guidelines.

No; you can only request one amount of additional leave in any leave year.

The total salary is reduced until the end of the leave period by the proportion for the number of weeks being taken. The monthly salary is then adjusted accordingly to spread the cost of the additional leave agreed in September over the year from October (or from April over the half year in instances of additional leave purchased at end March). By reducing salary, the amount of tax and National Insurance paid also reduces. At the end of the leave period salary is no longer reduced by this amount.

Employees who are members of either USS or UASLAS who purchase additional leave must continue to make pension contributions based upon the gross amount of pensionable pay they receive; ie contributions must be maintained at the original level throughout the year. This will maintain your pension record as normal.

Additional leave is not pensionable in LGPS, STSS or NHS so members of these schemes will lose the equivalent days of pensionable service and only pay contributions on the reduced salary. There may be the facility with each of these schemes to voluntarily purchase additional pension. If you are interested in this option please contact the Pensions Office.

You have to take it during the leave year i.e. by the end of the following September, (or end of January if your leave year starts in February).

No, a separate request must be made for each leave year no later than one month prior to the relevant leave year, ie by end August.

If having purchased additional annual leave you fail to take it before the end of the relevant leave year the leave will be lost, with no reimbursement. Managers and employees must ensure the additional leave can be accommodated prior to the manager’s approval. Only in exceptional circumstances will leave be carried over.

Normal arrangements for sickness during annual leave will apply to the purchased annual leave.

Employees leaving the University will be reimbursed any outstanding additional annual leave purchased and payments will be recovered in line with contractual provision if the employee has taken in excess of their purchased additional annual leave and contractual leave entitlement.

Each week is calculated as 7/365ths of gross annual salary. For further information please refer to example calculation.

No, where an employee requests to purchase additional annual leave, this will result in a reduction to monthly salary for the whole leave year. Where leave is requested in March this will result in a reduction to monthly salary for the remainder of the leave year ie 6 months. The cost of the additional annual leave will be calculated by:

• Deducting the cost of the additional annual leave from the annual salary;

• Dividing the adjusted annual salary by 12 to give a revised monthly salary (or by 6 from April)

As with normal annual leave, part-time / part-year worker’s purchased additional annual leave will be pro-rata. For part-time staff, a week is equivalent to their normal number of days worked in a week e.g. if they work 4 days per week i.e. 80% then they can purchase two of those weeks, they cannot purchase two full-time weeks. If part-time staff work 80% but over 5 days, they can still only purchase two weeks at 80% of full-time.

An employee should note that by completing and submitting Purchase of Additional Form that, if approved, this form also constitutes their consent to any applicable salary adjustment.

In the event that an employee’s salary changes during a leave year, the agreed additional annual leave purchase amount will remain unchanged.

No. Unless you were already participating in Purchase of Annual Leave Scheme when you started your maternity leave, you will not be able to join the scheme until after you return.

Any additional leave purchased prior to commencing your maternity leave can be taken, subject to the necessary approvals, as normal, usually at the beginning or end of a period of maternity leave. Whilst on maternity leave you will continue to have your pay reduced in line with the arrangements under the Scheme, unless doing so would reduce your pay below the statutory minimum, in which case the University will fund the additional leave until such time as your pay, with the reduction, is above the statutory minimum.

You will be eligible to purchase additional leave on your return to work following your maternity leave, subject to the normal rules of the scheme.

As taking additional leave involves reducing salaries, staff should be aware that if their salary falls below the Lower Earnings Limit, their entitlement to state benefits (such as state pension, statutory maternity pay, etc.) will be affected.

Staff should consider this before deciding to take additional leave. Any queries should be raised with the Payroll Office.