E13 Annual Leave, Career Breaks, Special Leave, and Parental Leave

Short-Term Paid Leave

1. There is no formal process,  just make your request to your Line Manager as soon as reasonably practicable.

Task assigned to: All Staff, Line Manager

2. Short-Term Paid Leave

• Employee must complete the form and provide as much notice as possible
• If approved, the Line Manager must confirm the return date in writing
• Line Manager must keep the employees post open for the duration of the leave period
• Line Manager must maintain reasonable contact with employees during their leave period.
• Line Manager must contact employee at least two weeks before return date to discuss return arrangements.
• Employee must return on the agreed date. If not, this will be viewed as unauthorised absence and could be a disciplinary offence.

Task assigned to: All Staff, Line Manager

3. Long-Term Unpaid Leave - up to three years

• Employee must submit written request at least three months before proposed start date
• Line Manager must decide if they are willing to support this application – consulting as necessary
• Director must keep the employee's post open for the duration of the leave period if they approve the application as employee has a guaranteed right of return
• Employee must fulfil all of the conditions below to retain their guaranteed a right of return. If employees do not comply with these conditions, they will lose their right to return to a post and could face disciplinary action.
• (START OF CONDITIONS) The employee is not permitted to take up any external employment while on this long term leave for caring or compassionate grounds - unless the intended hours of work fall outside recognised standard DFID office hours. Employee's Head of Department must approve any other employment in order to avoid any conflict of interest with the terms of Civil Service employment.
• The employee is required to keep in touch with their line manager at regular intervals which are to be agreed in advance of the leave.
• The employee must return on the specified date, agreed at the start of the leave.
• The employee must resign if they take up alternative employment that has similar hours to their contracted hours with DFID. Failure to do so will be regarded as misconduct and could result in dismissal.
• The employee must write to their line manager, three [3] months before their specified return date, to confirm that they intend to return to work or provide at least two weeks notice if the leave has been agreed for six months or less.
• The employee must repay any outstanding loans prior to beginning the leave. (END OF CONDITIONS)
• The Line Manager will contact the employee at least one month before their return date to confirm their return arrangements
• If the employee wants to change their return to work date they must give the following periods of notice to their Line Manager:
  • Long-term leave of fewer than six months - a minimum of one month’s notice.
  • Long-term leave of more than six months - a minimum of three months' notice.

The employee must return to work on the agreed date. If they do not return this will be treated as unauthorised absence which is a disciplinary offence.

Task assigned to: All Staff, Director, Head of Department, Line Manager

4. Annual Leave

• Employees are responsible for calculating leave entitlement and Line Managers are responsible for authorising and monitoring use
• Line Managers must ensure sufficient staffing levels at all times to meet business needs i.e. job-holders cannot claim the right to take leave at any particular time of the year
• The best way to meet both individual and business needs is to plan leave well in advance and ensure it is agreed with managers
• Both Line Managers and Employees must ensure all leave is taken, with limits to the level of carry-over allowed.
• DFID will include staff in the Keep in Touch scheme and keep them up to date about Postings and Promotion Rounds

Task assigned to: All Staff, Line Manager

5. Parental Leave

• Parents - natural or adoptive parents - can qualify for parental leave of up to 13 weeks unpaid leave until the child's 5th birthday, or within five years of a placement if a child has been adopted, or until the child's 18th birthday if they have a disability.
• Each parent is entitled to take 13 weeks parental leave for each child
• Staff who meet the eligibility criteria must give a minimum of 21 days notice of their intention to take parental leave
• Staff are guaranteed the right to return to the same job provided the parental leave period is for no more than a four-week block. If the period of leave is longer than four weeks, the employee is guaranteed to return to the same job or an alternative job with similar terms and conditions.
• If Parental Leave follows maternity or adoption leave, the right to return is:
•  If the employee: extends ordinary maternity leave by up to four weeks, the right to return to the same job remains
•  If the employee: extends additional maternity leave by up to four weeks, the right to return to the same job or equivalent job. If no job is available the employee may be made redundant

Task assigned to: All Staff, Line Manager

Risks of non-compliance

• DFID needs to be responsive in order to meet the needs of our staff, in relation to annual leave or in special circumstances. If we fail to do so, we risk:
• Losing quality staff with skills that are vital to the organisation
• Increased sick absence rates
• Reduced staff morale
• Increased stress levels
• Legal challenge to DFID for acting incompatibly with the 1998 Human Rights Act (HRA).
• In the case of Parental Leave, we risk legal action should we not comply with the supporting legislation.

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