Holidays and other time off
Holidays
Understand your holiday allowance, how to book time off for holidays and more.
How much holiday you get
If you have access to iTrent self serve, then the easiest way to see how much leave you have is to check your holiday balance on iTrent when you're next logged on.
Full time employees
The entitlement for full time employees is shown below. This does not include bank holidays.
Up to SCP 8 (top of L3):
- up to five years continuous service: 24 days per annum (177.6 hours)
- after five years continuous service: 29 days per annum (214.6 hours)
SCP 9 (base of L4) to SCP 28 (base of M1) inclusive:
- up to five years continuous service: 25 days per annum (185 hours)
- after five years continuous service: 30 days per annum (222 hours)
SCP 29 (2nd point of M1) to SCP 57 (top of M8) inclusive:
- up to five years continuous service: 26 days per annum (192.4 hours)
- after five years continuous service: 31 days per annum (229.4 hours)
Service directors and corporate directors:
- up to five years continuous service: 33 days per annum (244.2 hours)
- after five years continuous service: 38 days per annum (281.2 hours)
An employee is entitled to additional annual leave upon reaching the fifth anniversary of their appointment. This leave is awarded pro rata for the remaining amount of time left in the leave year.
Part time and term time employees
Part time employees can use the annual leave calculator to work out their entitlement.
Full time equivalent annual leave entitlement
25 days x 7.4 (hours in a normal working day) / 37 (hours in a normal working week) x actual hours worked per week = annual leave entitlement expressed in hours
A part time employee who's entitled to 25 days per year and works 30 hours per week, regardless of their working pattern, receives 150 annual leave hours for the year.
25 days x 7.4 hours per day / 37 hours per week x 30 hours per week worked = 150 hours annual leave entitlement
Remember to add on bank holidays using the same formula.
Term time only employees do not accrue additional annual leave that can be booked.
Buying more holiday
You can ‘buy’ up to 20 days extra annual leave in any one holiday year (pro rata for part-time staff). Approval from your manager is required, so that service needs are taken into account.
The scheme is open to all council employees, including those on temporary or fixed-term contracts. The scheme is not open to school employees.
Public (bank) holidays
Your annual leave balance in iTrent includes your entitlement in hours for bank holidays. For a full-timer, this will be the number of bank holidays in the leave year x 7.4 hours (FTE working day).
If you work part time, you get a pro rata number of hours automatically added to your holiday balance.
For example, if you work 30 hours per week, and there are eight bank holidays in the year, you'll be entitled to:
- 8 x 7.4/37 (FTE)
- x 30 (hours worked per week)
- = 48 hours
- 48 hours will be added to your holiday balance at the beginning of each leave year
You don’t need to book leave for bank holidays. When a bank holiday falls on one of your normal working days, iTrent automatically deducts the hours that would usually be worked based on your working pattern.
If a bank holiday falls on one of your non-working days iTrent will not deduct this from your holiday balance.
If you're booking a period of leave and a bank holiday falls within that period, you should ensure that you book your leave up to the bank holiday and then start the period again after the bank holiday.
We are now piloting a new to offer employees more.
How to change annual leave retrospectively
You need to email HR Services and copy your line manager in.
Email: lbcccshradmin@luton.gov.uk
Unwell on holiday
If you get ill when on holiday, the days that you are ill can be recorded, and paid as sickness absence instead (and the hours credited to your holiday balance) as long as you give your manager a doctors' certificate.
Your manager will need to enter the sickness absence on iTrent and let HR Services know to credit your holiday balance for those days.
How maternity, adoption or shared parental leave and holidays work
Before starting maternity, adoption or shared parental leave, wherever possible, you should ensure that you’ve taken the appropriate amount of annual leave.
You’re reminded that, where possible, annual leave must be taken in the year in which it's earned.
Requests will be considered to use outstanding leave entitlement to return to work on a flexible basis for an agreed period of time following maternity, adoption or shared parental leave.
Read the Time off for parents guide and the relevant downloadable documents below for your information.
Calculating how much holiday you'll have if you change your grade or your hours
If you change your hours or get a new job at a different grade your annual leave entitlement will be updated automatically and if you have access, you’ll be able to see your new balance in iTrent self-service.
To work out the impact of any change for before applying for a new job or requesting a change in working hours, use the annual leave calculator.
Outstanding annual leave after leaving your job
You should use any outstanding leave during your notice period. Unused annual leave will only be paid in exceptional circumstances.
If you leave part way through the annual leave year, having taken more annual leave than you’re entitled to, that will be deducted from your final salary payment.
Use the annual leave calculator to work out how much leave you have left to take.
Carrying over annual leave into the next year
Up to five days (37 hours) pro rata can be carried over annually. HR services will action this automatically. You don’t need to do anything.
The carried over leave will not show in iTrent immediately, it can take up to six weeks to be added to your holiday balance for the new annual leave year.
It is the responsibility of individual employees to take annual leave within each leave year. In extremely exceptional circumstances, carry over in excess of five days (pro rata) may be authorised by the relevant corporate director. Otherwise any remaining annual leave will be lost.