Employees may opt to add up to 5 additional days unpaid leave per year to their annual leave entitlement at the beginning of the leave year (or in the case of new staff, the start of their employment with the University). The cost of the additional days will be calculated using the employee's hourly rate of pay and be spread throughout the leave year (or what remains of it in the case of new staff) meaning that the impact of any loss of salary is spread over a longer time period. Please note: Additional unpaid leave for part-time staff will be calculated on a pro-rata basis.
The scheme is intended to offer staff additional planned leave and does not in any way affect their right to request leave under the University’s policies for compassionate leave or special leave.
No more than 5 days leave in total (including any additional days the employee has chosen to take) can be carried forward into the next holiday year.
Each additional day’s leave will be costed using the employee’s hourly rate of pay. Hourly rates of pay are calculated as follows:
- Annual salary/365(days per year) x 7 (days per week) = weeks per year /hours per week = Hourly rate
Example for a member of staff currently working 1 fte on point 1 of Grade 6:
- (£18,517 ÷ 365) x 7 = £355.11 per week
- £355.11 ÷ 37 = £9.60 per hour.
Similarly for a member if staff currently working 0.5 fte on point 1 of Grade 6:
- (£9258.5 ÷ 365) x 7 = £177.56 per week
- £177.56 ÷ 18.5 = £9.60 per hour.
For an employee working 7.4 hours per day, an additional day's leave would therefore be costed at:
- 7.4 hours x £9.60 = £71.04 gross per day