Purchasing additional annual leave

• Additional leave is for when you wish to take more holiday leave. When you take additional leave, you exchange an equivalent portion of your salary for the number of days taken as additional holiday leave. 
• Members of staff agree to reduce their salary, and in exchange, the university agrees to grant additional holiday leave, to a maximum of ten days a year for full-time staff and pro rata for part-time staff. Additional holiday leave is granted subject to the approval of line managers, who should confirm that the work requirements of the department can be met during the period when the member of staff is absent without the need to engage additional resources.
• Once agreed upon, the additional holiday leave is treated as an addition to the existing holiday leave entitlement and is subject to the same arrangements as normal holiday leave. All staff are eligible to request additional holiday leave.

Staff: Send your application to your manager no more than 2 months before the due dates.

You cannot apply at any other time, and if you miss the deadlines for submitting your request form, you will need to wait another six months before your application can be considered. In addition, you cannot make more than one request for additional holiday leave in any given year.

You may purchase additional holiday leave while on a fixed-term contract; however, your contract end date must allow for the twelve or six-month period during which the extra leave is granted.

Your contract end date must be at least:
• 12 months after the deadline day (31 January) to take up to 10 days
• 6 months after the deadline day (31 January or 31 July) to take up to 5 days.

This is pro-rated for part-time staff.

Only in exceptional circumstances would a line manager approve carrying forward additional holiday leave to the following leave year. Additional holiday leave should be taken before regular annual leave.

Your basic salary (before the reduction required to purchase additional holiday leave) will be adjusted following the usual procedures for promotions or pay rises. This will automatically result in a small adjustment to the reduction for additional holiday leave, from the point at which the changes are made. Arrears of pay will not affect this calculation.

Deductions will continue to be taken from your salary payment based on your changed working hours. For example, a member of staff moving from full-time to part-time employment will have deductions made according to their pro-rated salary.

If you are in a grade where overtime payments are made, you will continue to be paid for approved overtime at a rate based on your basic salary (i.e. before the reduction required to purchase additional holiday leave).

Pensionable salary (i.e. before the reduction required to purchase additional holiday leave) is used for pension calculation purposes. The additional holiday leave scheme affects neither pensionable salary nor the length of service used to calculate your pension.

To maintain their full pension record, staff should continue to pay their normal contributions through the payroll system, whether or not they purchase additional holiday leave. The university will likewise continue to maintain the employer's contribution in full.

Any queries should be raised with the Pensions Office (pensions@imperial.ac.uk or phone 020 7594 5539).

As purchasing additional holiday leave involves a reduction in your contractual salary, staff members should be aware that any state benefits that use this as the basis for calculating entitlement may be affected. This includes state pension, statutory maternity pay, and tax credits, although the impact on some of these will be negligible (you may seek advice from HMRC).

Statutory maternity, paternity, and sick pay are enhanced by the university's contractual pay schemes for most employees. And therefore, most employees' overall entitlements will be unaffected by the Additional Holiday Leave scheme. However, this depends upon individual circumstances. In cases of doubt, staff should seek independent advice (e.g., from a Citizens Advice Bureau or the Government Agency responsible for providing the benefit in question).

For staff who have chosen not to join the university's superannuation schemes, there may also be an impact on their state Second Pension, which is linked to NI contributions. However, it is anticipated that this impact will be minimal.

Before leaving Imperial, you should use any (pro-rated) outstanding holiday leave entitlement. In exceptional circumstances, you may be entitled to payment in lieu of holiday leave, subject to approval by your head of department.

Additional leave is not affected by and does not affect any other leave type other than holiday leave entitlements within annual leave. 

Refer to sickness absence if you are sick during your additional leave. 

The monthly salary reduction will appear (like any other salary sacrifices you have entered into) as a separate item under the column "Pay Details this Period" as negative earnings, i.e. with brackets around it.

The university will provide your basic salary (i.e., before the reduction required to purchase additional holiday leave) in response to formal requests for confirmation of your salary.