Insights
What are the different types of leave under leave management?
Leave management is crucial for any employer and there are various types of time off that can apply to an individual’s employment, paid or unpaid, for variable lengths of time, with different eligibility requirements and entitlements. Many of these will be a statutory provision and others will be employer discretion. These types of leave include but are not limited to:
- Annual Leave
- Unpaid Leave
- Sick Leave
- Bereavement/Compassionate Leave
- Parental Bereavement Leave
- Maternity, Adoption, Shared Parental and Paternity Leave
- Parental Leave
- Time off for Dependants
- Carers Leave
- Jury duty
- Sabbatical/Career breaks
- Time off for medical appointments
What are the employee and employer rights when it comes to leave types?
There are various types of leave with different employee and employer rights to consider when utilising leave management. Below are examples of some of the most common types of leave and their respective entitlements.
- For family leave such as maternity leave, adoption leave, shared parental leave and paternity leave, this will always be a day one employment right for anyone classed as an employee.
- For Maternity Leave and Adoption Leave this will be up to 52 weeks of leave whereas Shared Parental Leave can utilise up to 50 weeks leave.
- Paternity Leave can only be up to two weeks, either taken as one or two weeks.
- Payment for maternity leave, adoption leave, shared parental leave or paternity leave will depend on length of service and earnings eligibility, where sufficient notice and evidence may also be required in some cases (e.g. MatB1 form).
- Parental leave requires that an employee has over a year’s service at the point they request this type of leave and there is no statutory entitlement to pay for this type of planned leave. Parental leave is available for up to 4 weeks per year up to a maximum of 18 years until the child’s 18th
- Time off for dependants is available from day one, applies to emergency situations, is unpaid and although there is no set time amount of time for this this would typically be for 2 to 3 days to deal with the emergency and put longer term care arrangements in place for the future.
- Sick leave will be available to all staff from day one and if they are eligible for statutory sick pay (SSP) they can receive pay for up to 28 weeks for a singular sickness absence or linked periods of sickness absences. This is conditional on eligibility requirements as previously discussed but will also require that the employee provides self certification for the first 7 days of absence and fit notes for any absences thereafter. Failure to provide appropriate medical certification can result in non payment of SSP and potential misconduct for unauthorised absence.
- Annual Leave (or holiday leave) is available to all staff from day one and for during the full holiday year they would be entitled to 5.6 weeks of holiday pay as a minimum. For a full time member of staff who works five days a week this would be 28 days holiday which can include bank holidays and part-time workers would get a pro rata entitlement of this. Regardless of whether they are full or part-time however, all staff member will be entitled to the 5.6 weeks holiday pay as previously mentioned. If a member of staff starts with a company part way through the holiday year, then their holiday entitlement will also be pro rata based on what is left of the holiday year.
This is a summary of some of the different types of leave and there are still other associated rights that come with these.
Further information and comprehensive guidance documents can be sought from a member of the Alcumus SafeWorkforce team.
Why SafeWorkforce?
At SafeWorkforce we’re able to offer you an outsourcing service for your Human Resource needs so that you get:
- Specialist guidance from our experts.
- Supporting you in becoming legal and compliant.
- A tailored approach that suits your business.
To speak to a member of the team, get in touch on 0333 355 9140 opt.4 or make an enquiry.
