Purchasing additional annual leave

You may purchase additional holiday leave whilst on a fixed term contract, however your contract end date must allow for the twelve or six month period in 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 give approval for additional holiday leave to be carried forward 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 in accordance with 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, i.e. 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. Neither pensionable salary nor the length of service used to calculate your pension is affected by the additional holiday leave scheme.

In order 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 College 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, members of staff should be aware that any state benefits which 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 choose to seek advice on this from HMRC).

Statutory maternity, paternity and sick pay are, for the majority of employees, enhanced by the College’s contractual pay schemes, and therefore most employees’ overall entitlements will be unaffected by the Additional Holiday Leave scheme. However, this depends upon individual circumstances and 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 College’s superannuation schemes, there may also be an impact on their state Second Pension as this is linked to NI contributions. It is anticipated that this impact will be minimal.

You should use any (pro rated) outstanding holiday leave entitlement prior to leaving the College. 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 reduction in your pay will appear (like any other salary sacrifices which you have entered into) as a separate item under the column “Pay Details this Period” as negative earnings, i.e. with brackets around it.

In response to formal requests received by the College for confirmation of your salary your basic salary (i.e. before the reduction required to purchase additional holiday leave) will be provided.