Unpaid leave

Policy

For full details on this leave type please refer to the special leave policy.

Special Leave [pdf]

Download request form [Word]

Any member of staff may apply for unpaid leave from the College regardless of job family and length of service. A member of staff’s employment is continuous during a period of unpaid leave.

Unpaid leave may be used to cover additional days required following other types of leave, such as Compassionate leave or Domestic emergencies leave. Or it may be used to cover longer, unexpected absences from the College.

There is no specified amount of days of unpaid leave. Your line manager will need to approve your request and note that the length of unpaid leave you take may affect other factors of your contract and pay (e.g. annual leave, pension contributions). 

Requesting unpaid leave

Staff guidance

You will need to complete the Unpaid leave / study leave request and send it to your line manager. Provide as much notice as possible to your manager.

Your line manager will review your request, taking into account any cover required for your duties in your absence.

If approved, your manager will send your form to Payroll and the HR Staff Hub. HR will contact you asking for signed confirmation of salary deduction during your unpaid leave. Your TeamSeer department administrator will update your absence records on your behalf.

Annual leave during Unpaid leave

Where the period of unpaid leave extends beyond one month, the contractual annual leave entitlement will cease during this period and paid statutory holiday leave at the rate of 28 days per annum (pro rata for part time staff) will accrue, inclusive of 8 days for public holidays. See the Special Leave [pdf] policy for more information.

See the Special Leave [pdf]‌ policy for more information on pension contributions during unpaid leave.

Manager guidance

Review the request and approve or decline, taking the following into consideration, as appropriate and as reasonably practicable:

  • length of unpaid leave
  • covering the staff member's operational duties

If approved, send the approved form to Payroll and the Staff Hub who will update TeamSeer absence management records.

See the Special Leave [pdf]‌ policy for more information on the following in association with unpaid leave:

  • Annual leave during unpaid leave
  • Pension contributions