The annual leave entitlements (expressed in 8 hour days [2] ) for the federated ranks are found in Regulation 33 and Annex O of Police Regulations 2003:

Working on a day of annual leave or a day in lieu of overtime

The following scale of compensation applies where an officer is recalled to duty from a period of absence from duty of three or more days (of which at least one day is annual leave). It also applies to the cancellation of pre-booked, scheduled annual leave where the same criteria are met i.e. absence from duty of three or more days of which at least one day is annual leave:

[2] As mentioned in Section G of this booklet, PNB Circular 2014/9 notes that annual leave for full and part-time members should be calculated and available in hours.

Annex O details that if the period of absence includes free days, rostered rest days, days in lieu of overtime or public holidays, compensation for working on those days (or time off in lieu) would be as per the relevant regulation i.e. Regulation 26, Annex H for public holidays.

However, PNB Circular 2014/8 details a PNB agreement which provides that where an officer is required to work on a rest day or a free day within a period of annual leave that day shall be compensated as if it were a day of annual leave or a day taken off in lieu of overtime. In these circumstances annual leave is defined as a period of absence from duty of five days or more where at least one of those days is a day of annual leave and the other days are rostered rest days, days taken in lieu of overtime, public holidays or free days (or days taken in lieu thereof). See Section F of this guide for further information.

Carry-over of annual leave

At the discretion of the chief officer and subject to exigencies of duty members can carry over to the next leave year no more than five additional days of annual leave outstanding from the current year (in exceptional circumstances the chief officer can allow a member to carry over more); or bring forward to the last month of a leave year no more than five days’ leave from the following leave year.

However, the Police Negotiating Board (PNB) is keen to ensure that the carry over provision is further applied to enable officers to carry over their four weeks’ (pro-rata for part-time officers) Working Time Directive leave entitlement into the next year where a member has been unable to take that leave:

1. where the member has been absent on long-term sick leave but resumed duty late in the leave year and so had not had the opportunity to take all of their annual leave before the end of the leave year; and
2. because of long-term absence on sick leave which continues into a new leave year.

If a member returns to duty from sick leave within the same leave year, they will be entitled to receive the leave entitlement from that year, minus any leave they have already taken. Where a member returns to duty late in the leave year and so does not have the opportunity to take all their annual leave before the end of the leave year, or where a member returns to duty in a new leave year, he or she will be entitled to carry over four weeks’ annual leave (less any annual leave and bank holidays already taken) into the new leave year. However, any annual leave carried over must be taken within 15 months of the end of the leave year in which it accrued.

Further details can be found in PNB Circular 2014/23. This circular also covers the carry-over of annual leave when an officer has been on maternity leave. Section J of this booklet contains more information.

Is a member who is on annual leave who becomes sick entitled to go on sick leave (and reclaim the annual leave)?

Police Regulations 2003 do not explicitly deal with the interaction of annual leave and sick leave. We consider that a day cannot simultaneously be regarded as both a day of sick leave and a day of annual leave.

As the Regulations are silent as to the manner of notification and rearrangement of annual leave we consider that a member who has booked a holiday but who is then injured or becomes ill and unable to take the holiday should be able to cancel the annual leave and take it at a later date.

With regard to the position of a member who becomes ill on holiday, we recommend notification of the position to the force as soon as possible so as to maximise the prospect of being able to reclaim annual leave.

PNB Circular 2014/23 states that where an officer is sick during a pre-booked period of leave they should be allowed to take that period of leave at another time, subject to providing evidence they were sick e.g. a medical certificate.

Compensation for annual leave not taken on leaving the service

If, on termination of service, the proportion of annual leave taken by a member in the last year of service is less than the proportion of the leave year which has passed, s/he is entitled to payment in lieu of the untaken days.

Conversely if, on termination of service, the proportion of annual leave taken by the member exceeds that proportion of the leave year which has expired, the police authority are entitled to compensation, whether by payment, additional service, or otherwise.

For further details of the calculations involved please see PNB Circular 01/2, Home Office Circular 21/2002 and Regulation 33, Annex O of Police Regulations 2003.

Produced and issued by Research and Policy Support PFEW HQ - updated October 2014 still correct August 2016