---
description: >-
  Our leave policy is defined below. Any abuse of leave allowances will be
  considered a misconduct issue.
---

# Leave

## Annual Leave

* **Annual Leave allowance:** All members are permitted 25 days leave plus bank holidays, assuming a commitment of 37.5 working hours per week. The organisation's leave year runs from 1st January to 31st December.&#x20;
* **Pro-rating:** For part-time workers, both annual leave and bank holidays are pro-rated.&#x20;
* **Requesting leave:** You need approval from both your Circle Lead and People Operations to take leave. Your Circle Lead will determine whether the leave is appropriate given the timing of leave and People Ops will ensure you're staying within your annual allowance. Taking leave without authorisation will be considered a misconduct offence. Taking leave despite a declined request will be considered a misconduct offence. Misconduct offences may result in dismissal without notice. Members should not make any firm travel or accommodation arrangements etc. until they have received written confirmation that their request for leave has been granted. There may be circumstances where the organisation cannot grant the request. The organisation is not liable for any loss incurred by a member, such as lost deposits etc, if they incur costs and make commitments prior to receiving confirmation.
* **Cancelling leave at the organisation's request:** The Company may ask a member to cancel any previously agreed leave. There may be various reasons for this, such as operational or staffing issues, or business commitments that require the member’s presence. The Company recognises the inconvenience that this may cause a member and, therefore, understands that the member may refuse this request. The organisation will make a decision on whether, where the cancellation is agreed and the member suffers a financial detriment eg lost deposits etc, the member is to be reimbursed.
* **Tracking leave:** People Ops tracks members' leave. You can ask People Ops at anytime to find out how much annual leave you have left.
* **Bank holidays:** You are welcome to work bank holidays and take an extra day's leave in lieu. Make sure you communicate this to People Ops and your Circle Lead.
* **Annual leave and sickness:** If a member falls sick during annual leave and wishes to reallocate the period of leave as sick leave with the result that reconvened leave may be taken at another time in the leave year, the member will need to notify People Ops and their Circle Lead. The organisation may permit those days to be classed as sick days and equivalent time off taken as paid leave later in the leave year providing the leave falls within the overall holiday leave allowance. The days on which the leave is to be taken must be agreed with the organisation. Members who are already away on a trip when they fall sick should contact the organisation as soon as reasonably practicable.
* **Pay:** During annual leave, members will receive their normal pay.&#x20;
* **Family Leave:** If on a family leave period (detailed below), annual leave will continue to accrue.
* **Untaken annual leave:** The organisation encourages members to use all their annual leave so they have the chance to rest. Ordinarily, untaken leave cannot be carried forward into the next leave year and will be lost. Approval must be sought from the member's Circle Lead and People Ops if a member wishes to carry forward any annual leave into the next leave year. Ordinarily, the organisation will not permit payment in lieu of annual leave unless exceptional circumstances apply. In every case, payment in lieu of the statutory minimum entitlement will not be permitted.
* **Termination of membership:** When membership terminates partway through a leave year, the leave entitlement will be recalculated on a pro-rata basis. This will determine the amount of leave the member would be entitled to, for the period of service during the leave year. Any outstanding leave accrued but untaken will be paid to the member in their final pay. This is subject to the right of the organisation for the member to take their outstanding leave during their notice period. Otherwise, the amount due for outstanding leave will be added to the member's final pay. If the member has exceeded their pro-rata entitlement to annual leave at the time they leave employment, this will be classed as an overpayment and an amount to cover this will be deducted from their final pay, subject to the maximum that their final pay permits.&#x20;

## Time Off In Lieu (TOIL)

In instances where you work beyond your regular hours, you may take time off in lieu corresponding to the extra hours you worked. This time off needs to be agreed by your Circle Lead

## Sick Leave

In all instances of sickness, Members must inform their Circle Lead and People Operations. Members can be off sick without a doctor's note for up to 5 working days. Beyond this you will need to provide a doctor's note stating you are not fit for work.

Members will receive full pay for their first 10 days of sick leave during any calendar year. Beyond these 10 days, pay will correspond to [Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/statutory-sick-pay-manually-calculate-your-employees-payments).&#x20;

Upon returning to work, you must have a ['return to work check-in' ](https://writer.zoho.eu/writer/open/a4mr378b6300569ad42faa1c1bd1cdeafdd11)with People Ops, where you will give your reason for illness, whether you're fully fit to return to work and whether there's a higher chance than normal that you will go off again sick in the near future.

Your sick leave is tracked by People Ops and if you reach the trigger point of 10 days sick leave within 1 year this will trigger an investigation which will look into how the organisation can support you to stay well enough to work, analyse any patterns in your sick leave and, if relevant, discuss whether you are fit enough to continue working under your current relationship with the organisation.



## Family Leave

If having or adopting a child, members are entitled to Family Leave as per UK government law. In such instances, Members must contact People Operations to make appropriate arrangements. More information on different types of Family Leave can be found below:

* [Maternity Leave](https://www.gov.uk/maternity-pay-leave)
* [Paternity Leave](https://www.gov.uk/paternity-pay-leave)
* [Shared Parental Leave](https://www.gov.uk/shared-parental-leave-and-pay)
* [Adoption Leave](https://www.gov.uk/adoption-pay-leave)

## Bereavement Leave

In the case of the death of a dependent, members are permitted to take time off. Upon the member notifying People Operations, the organisation will grant 1 weeks leave, at full pay, if a dependent has died. Dependents are classified as:

* husband, wife, civil partner or partner
* their child
* their parent
* a person who lives in the household (not tenants, lodgers or employees)
* a person who relies on them, such as an elderly neighbour
* an animal companion &#x20;

2 weeks with full pay are granted for a member's child under 18.&#x20;

In circumstances of bereavement, if needed, members may take additional leave in the form of:&#x20;

* annual leave
* unpaid leave (up to 1 additional week).&#x20;

If someone dies who is not a dependent and a member wishes to take bereavement leave, they must first obtain approval from their Circle Lead and People Operations.

## Caregiver Leave

Subject to the approval of their Circle Lead, members may take up to 4 days per year of paid leave to care for dependents in cases of illness or emergency. A dependent is classified as per the Bereavement Leave subsection above.&#x20;

If the member takes 4 days of caregiver leave then an investigation will be triggered to assess whether their current relationship with the organisation is suitable given their domestic / dependent's needs.

In any given situation, it is up to the discretion of the organisation whether to grant caregiver leave. Where a member needs to take additional time off beyond 4 days, the organisation may offer the option for the member to take annual or unpaid leave to deal with their personal situation.

## Unpaid Leave

Subject to the approval of their Circle Lead and notifying People Operations, Members may take unpaid leave.&#x20;

{% hint style="info" %}
_If you have a suggestion to improve this page,_ [_click here_](https://animal-think-tank.gitbook.io/handbook/page-owners)_._&#x20;
{% endhint %}
