Holidays

The annual leave year, for both the accrual and taking of leave, is 1 January to 31 December.

The annual leave entitlement for full-time staff in E to H is 30 days plus 8 bank/public holidays and (subject to paragraph 1 below) 3 Closure Days designated by the University. The University reserves the right, following consultation with trade union representatives, to convert up to 3 days of the 30 day entitlement into Closure Days designated by the University.

The annual leave entitlement for full-time staff in grades A to D is 28 days plus 8 bank/public holidays and (subject to paragraphs 1 and 2 below) 3 Closure Days designated by the University. The University reserves the right, following consultation with trade union representatives, to convert up to 3 days of the 28 day entitlement into Closure Days designated by the University.

1. The University reserves the right to determine when one day of this leave is to be taken by giving formal notification to staff no later than the preceding 31 December. (In practice, the University will only exercise this right when Christmas Day falls on either a Tuesday or a Thursday, to avoid campuses being open for a single day ie either Christmas Eve or 2 January.)
2. To meet operational requirements, the University may require staff to work on a designated Closure Day, in which case alternative paid leave will be provided, to be taken by agreement with management, and no additional payment will be made. Staff in grades A to D may qualify for additional payment in accordance with paragraph 6(H) above when they are required to work on a Closure Day in addition to their normal working week.

(Different arrangements for bank/public holidays may apply to staff based overseas: for more information contact globalemployment@exeter.ac.uk)

For part-time staff working fewer days or hours, leave entitlement is proportionate.

The annual leave entitlement for staff joining or leaving the employment of the University during the course of the year is proportionate to their completed service during the leave year.

If an employee whose employment ends during the year has taken more days of leave than s/he has accrued up to their final date of employment, then a deduction will be made from their final salary payment.

Staff are expected to take their leave in the leave year in which it is accrued. While there is no entitlement to carry forward leave, where it is not possible (eg for operational reasons) for employees to take all their leave entitlement, they may carry forward up to 5 days’ leave to the following year, with the permission of their Pro Vice Chancellor/Director of Service or other senior manager. Any leave carried forward must be taken by 30 April in the following year or it will be lost. If a member of staff has more than 5 days’ leave outstanding at the end of a year, the excess over and above 5 days will be lost. There is no entitlement for payment in lieu of untaken leave.

Staff employed on a fixed term basis are expected to take annual leave accrued in the year in which their employment ends before the expiry of their contract.

The timing of leave is by agreement with the relevant manager/Head who will take into account both individual preferences and operational requirements. In the case of staff in the Education and Research and Education and Scholarship job families, leave will normally be taken during University vacations.

For staff working term-time only, their annual salary includes their pro-rata paid leave entitlement, to be taken on unspecified days during the vacation periods. Leave may not be taken during Term-time.

Where attendance on a bank/public holiday is required, the University will in the first instance seek volunteers, subject to the right of the University to require staff to work on bank/public holidays to meet the operational requirements of the University where insufficient volunteers are available. Where staff are rostered to work on a bank/public holiday, the University will manage the rosters so that bank/public holiday working is evenly shared among staff. Where staff are required to work on a bank/public holiday within their normal working week, alternative paid leave will be provided, to be taken by agreement with management, and no additional payment will be made. Staff in grades A to D may qualify for additional payment in accordance with the information outlined in the remuneration page above when they are required to work on a bank/public holiday in addition to their normal working week.