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UCL employees are eligible to request to purchase up to an additional 5 days of annual leave per year (pro-rata) which can be repaid via salary over a 10-month period.
- General Information
- Eligibility
- Number of days leave
- Paying for the leave
- Change to hours or role after purchasing additional annual leave
- Pension position
- Effect on state benefits
- Guidance to managers
- How to access additional leave
- Multiple assignments
- Leaving UCL
- Examples
- Associated documents
General information
1. Additional annual leave supports UCL’s principle to support work/life balance and allows staff to spread the cost of extra leave over a period of time.
2. Additional annual leave operates similarly to a salary sacrifice arrangement. Staff agree to reduce their salary, and UCL will provide up to 5 days additional leave each year (pro-rated for part-time employees), subject to agreement with their managers that the work requirements of the area can be met.
3. Once agreed, the additional leave is treated as a temporary addition to existing leave entitlement and is subject to the same arrangements as normal annual leave.
Eligibility
4. The scheme is available for all employees who are entitled to UCL’s standard annual leave policy. There is no minimum employment service level required. You should have an open-ended contract with UCL, or on a contract that is not ending in the next leave year that you are purchasing the additional leave for.
5. You will not be eligible if any of the following apply:
- If you are paid separately for your annual leave due to the specific nature of your contractual terms (e.g. casual workers);
- the deductions to salary would take your pay below the level of the National Minimum Wage; and
- the change to salary would impact your visa eligibility whereby the deduction would result in pay falling below the salary threshold for the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code applicable to your role.
Number of days leave
6. Staff have the opportunity to make their requests once a year:
- by 30th September, for up to 5 days leave, in the next leave year
7. For staff who work part-time or who are contracted to work more than a standard week, the maximum number of days of additional leave is pro-rated. The leave can be taken at any time during the year and does not have to be taken together as a single block. Staff should note the UCL policy on annual leave carryover and that any leave (regular and purchased leave combined) above 5 days cannot be carried forward to the following leave year if unused. Annual leave cannot be sold.
Paying for the leave
8. The additional leave is paid for through a reduction in salary equivalent to the salary for the number of hours of leave being taken; each day being considered to be 7.3 hours. If the full 5 days are taken, this is just under 2% of gross annual salary. The total salary is reduced over the initial 10 months of the leave year starting in October, ending with July payroll. By reducing your salary, the amount of tax and National Insurance you pay will also reduce. For a range of examples please scroll to the bottom of this page.
9. Please note once approved, this will create a contractual change to your terms and conditions as a temporary amendment for the duration of the leave year in question, and you won’t be able to change or sell back any days for that leave year.
Change to hours or role after purchasing additional annual leave
10. If this happens, your monthly deductions to pay for the scheme will remain the same for the rest of the annual leave year (subject to you remaining within the eligibility criteria). If you have a new role, your purchased annual leave balance will move with you to the new role, but please inform your new line manager that you have purchased additional annual leave and how many days you have remaining to take.
Pension scheme rules
11. The USS and SAUL will accept pension contributions based on ‘notional salary’ i.e. your salary before any reduction is made and therefore the benefits of those in these schemes will not be affected. The NHS Pension Scheme, however, will only accept pension contributions based upon the reduced salary. This could affect retirement benefits and AVC contributions for those in this scheme. Any questions regarding how the ALPS may affect your pension contributions and benefits should be addressed to the pensions team on pensions@ucl.ac.uk.
Effect on state benefits
12. As taking additional leave involves reducing salaries, staff should be aware that if their salary falls below the Lower Earnings Limit, their entitlement to state benefits (such as universal credit, state pension, statutory maternity pay, etc.) will be affected. Staff should consider this before deciding to take additional leave. Any queries should be raised with HR Services by emailing them on hr-services@ucl.ac.uk.
Guidance to managers
13. Managers should consider requests for additional leave fairly and consistently. Managers should consider the requirements and key objectives of the role held by the staff member, and whether the additional leave may impact on the ability to deliver those requirements and objectives. The specific arrangements will need to be reviewed on a case by case basis. It may be appropriate to consider adjustments to timescales or workload where specific pre-determined objectives are deemed to be unachievable as a result of additional leave being taken. Managers would then need to consider whether such a delay or adjustment is practical for the department. If, after due consideration, a request has to be turned down, the reasons for doing so should be given to the member of staff.
How to access additional annual leave
14. Staff wishing to buy additional leave should make their original request to their line manager before the end of September via the MyHR (Employee Self Service> My Absence> Purchase annual leave) so that the impact on the work in their area can be assessed in time for a submission to be made.
Multiple assignments
15. If you have more than one assignment position at UCL, your request to purchase annual leave on MyHR Self Service system would default to your primary assignment. If you wish to divide your purchase between your assignments or use it with your non-primary assignment(s), please complete the attached from and email HR Services hr-services@ucl.ac.uk who can record this for you accordingly. This form should only be used for employees with multiple assignments who wish to purchase leave on their non-primary assignment.
Leaving UCL
16. What happens if I leave the University having not taken all of my annual leave (purchased or otherwise)?
17. Where staff leave before the end of the leave year in which they purchased annual leave, their final pay will be deducted for any monies for any purchased leave that has been used but not yet paid for.
Examples
Example 1 (full-time employee buying 5 days)
| Employee details | |
|---|---|
| Total salary per anum (including all allowances where applicable) | £33,461 |
| Hours worked per week | 36.5 |
| FTE | 1.00 |
| Holiday purchase cost calculation | |
|---|---|
| Cost of 1 hour holiday purchase (full-time salary divided by 1903.11 full-time hours per annum) | £17.58 |
| Cost per day (cost £ per hour as above x 7.3 hours) | £128.35 |
| Hours purchased as additional holiday | 36.5 |
| Total cost of holiday purchase (cost £ per hour as above x hours purchased) | £641.75 |
| Cost to be deducted per month from gross salary over 10-months | £64.18 |
Example 2 (part-time employee working 3 days buying 3 days)
| Employee details | |
|---|---|
| Total salary per anum (full-time equivalent including all allowances where applicable) | £33,461 |
| Hours worked per week | 21.9 |
| FTE | 0.60 |
| Holiday purchase cost calculation | |
|---|---|
| Cost of 1 hour holiday purchase (full-time salary divided by 1903.11 full-time hours per annum) | £17.58 |
| Cost per day (cost £ per hour as above x 7.3 hours) | £128.35 |
| Hours purchased as additional holiday | 21.9 |
| Total cost of holiday purchase (cost £ per hour as above x hours purchased) | £385.08 |
| Cost to be deducted per month from gross salary over 10-months | £38.51 |
Example 3 (full-time employee buying 3 days)
| Employee details | |
|---|---|
| Total salary per anum (including all allowances where applicable) | £55,000 |
| Hours worked per week | 36.5 |
| FTE | 1.00 |
| Holiday purchase cost calculation | |
|---|---|
| Cost of 1 hour holiday purchase (full-time salary divided by 1903.11 full-time hours per annum) | £28.90 |
| Cost per day (cost £ per hour as above x 7.3 hours) | £210.97 |
| Hours purchased as additional holiday | 21.9 |
| Total cost of holiday purchase (cost £ per hour as above x hours purchased) | £632.91 |
| Cost to be deducted per month from gross salary over 10-months | £63.29 |
Example 4 (part-time employee working 4 days buying 2 days)
| Employee details | |
|---|---|
| Total salary per anum (full-time equivalent including all allowances where applicable) | £43,000 |
| Hours worked per week | 29.2 |
| FTE | 0.80 |
Associated documents
Annual leave purchase form for employees with multiple assignments
HR Employment Policy
September 2022