2024 Annual Leave Year
Annual leave can support our mental and physical health and is an essential part of contributing to a positive work-life balance. Sanctuary’s Annual Leave Purchase scheme is a voluntary employee benefit where eligible employees can buy the equivalent of up to three days additional annual leave and spread the cost as a deduction from salary over ten equal instalments. If you are enrolled in the 2023 scheme and remain eligible, your current option for purchased days/hours will automatically roll over for the 2024 scheme unless you make a change. You will receive a letter advising of the 2024 cost with further information if you want to change your purchased days/hours or leave the scheme. If you are not currently enrolled and apply for the 2024 scheme your membership will be rolled over for each future year the scheme operates, you will have the opportunity to change or leave the scheme each year.
Eligibility
Eligibility is based on length of service and Terms and Conditions (T&Cs) of employment. To qualify for the 2023 scheme, on 9 October 2023, you must:
- Have a start date on or before 9 October 2023, and
- Be employed on contracted hours and not on a Term-Time contract or Bank contract (as a commitment to a regular salary deduction is required), and
- Be employed on Sanctuary T&Cs, with the exception of Care Management, Care Specialist and Care Operations T&Cs.
Employees on non-Sanctuary TUPE protected terms are not eligible to participate. The eligible terms and conditions have been determined by individual business leadership taking into account a number of factors, such as changes in annual leave entitlements and the operational impact of covering additional absence.
Apply to Purchase Annual Leave
The 2024 scheme letters with personal purchase leave options and costs will be sent to the home address of all current enrolled employees and eligible employees by 1 November 2023. For sustainability we are no longer sending printed scheme guides, application forms and pre-paid return envelopes these will be available on Solis, the My Rewards website and via a QR codes printed on your letter. Employees with more than one job will receive a letter and form for each eligible role. 2024 application forms must be returned by 30 November 2023.
If you are currently enrolled in the 2023 scheme, remain eligible and want to retain your selected option for purchased days or hours you do not need to do anything; your current option will automatically roll over. If you would like to amend your option or leave the scheme, please follow the steps on your letter by 30 November 2023. Confirmation that the application/change has been received will be emailed. If you do not receive an email confirmation by 8 December 2023, please contact the HR Service Desk on 0800 022 4200 and select option 3 or use the Self-Service Portal and go to HR General Enquiry form. Applications do not require manager approval, but to support operational planning, employees should make their manager aware.
Purchased Leave Options
Full-time employees
The maximum amount of leave that can be purchased is three days, with options to buy one, two or three days. For employees who book annual leave in hours, the equivalent of one day is a fifth of contracted weekly hours, which is calculated by dividing contracted hours by five.
- For example: for a 35 hour week, the options would be to buy 7 hours (35/5), 14 hours (35/5*2) or 21 hours (35/5*3) and for a 37.5 hour week the options would be 7.5 hours, 15 hours or 22.5 hours.
Note: For employees who are contracted to work more than the full-time equivalent (FTE) hours for their T&Cs (e.g. contracted to 37.5 hours but FTE is 35 hours) the options are based on contracted hours and not FTE.
Part-time employees
The amount of leave that can be purchased is pro-rated based on contracted weekly hours. If annual leave is booked in hours the pro-rata equivalent of one day is a fifth of contracted hours, which is calculated by dividing contracted hours by five. The individual work pattern or number of hours worked each day does not impact the number of hours available for purchase.
- For example: for a 27.5 hour week, the options would be to buy 5.5 hours (27.5/5), 11 hours (27.5/5*2) or 16.5 hours (27.5/5*3).
Some part-time employees with a regular work pattern book annual leave in pro-rated days and would have the option to buy one, two or three days.
- For example: for a 27.5 hour week with a work pattern of 5.5 hours per day, the options would be to buy 1 day (equivalent to 5.5 hours), 2 days (equivalent to 11 hours) or 3 days (equivalent to 16.5 hours).
The purchased leave options are fixed based on contracted weekly hours on 2 October 2023. If contracted hours increase or decrease before the end of the 2024 annual leave year the purchased annual leave does not change.
For any employees who change from booking annual leave in days to hours (or vice versa) before the end of the annual leave year, their total annual leave entitlement will be converted to days/hours, as appropriate.
Purchased Leave Cost
The cost of purchasing additional annual leave is based on a day’s salary as of 2 October 2023 (including job premium and location premium policy allowances), which is calculated as annual salary divided by 260, the standard working days in a year. If the rate of pay increases or decreases before the end of the annual leave year the cost does not change. For employees who are hourly paid, the annual salary is calculated as hourly rate x contracted weekly hours x 52 weeks. Option 1 total cost = annual salary / 260 Option 2 total cost = (annual salary / 260) x 2 Option 3 total cost = (annual salary / 260) x 3
- For example: with an annual salary of £20,000, option 1 would cost£76.92 (20,000/260), option 2 would cost £153.85 (20,000/260*2), option 3 would cost £230.77 (20,000/260*3).
The total cost is divided into 10 equal instalments. These will be deducted from net salary, starting on the 21 January 2024 for monthly paid employees and 26 January 2024 for four weekly paid employees.
Booking Purchased Leave
Purchased annual leave will be added to the total annual leave entitlement, along with contractual entitlement and any carry over. Employees with access to OneSanctuary HR will be able to view their total annual leave entitlement and book leave in the system from January 2024. Employees who do not have system access should continue to use their annual leave form available from their manager. All leave should be requested and taken in the line with the usual annual leave procedures that are set out in the Staff Handbook.
Moving from Contracted Hours to a Bank Contract
If an employee joins the Scheme but subsequently changes to a Bank Contract with zero contracted hours, they will no longer be able to participate as a commitment to a regular salary deduction is required. If this change occurs before the start of the annual leave year their application will be cancelled; otherwise their payroll after the change will include a payment equivalent to any untaken purchased leave and/or a deduction for any outstanding total purchase leave cost. If the salary is not sufficient to allow for the whole balance, they will be required to repay the outstanding amount in line with standard payroll overpayment arrangements.
Leaving the Scheme
Employees are not able to leave the Scheme after 1 January 2024, unless in exceptional circumstances defined as ‘unplanned lifestyle events’. Contact the HR Service Desk for further details and request an ‘Annual Leave Purchase Scheme Unplanned Lifestyle Change Form’.
Leaving Sanctuary
If an employee leaves the Group before the start of the annual leave year their application will be cancelled; otherwise they retain all purchased leave. Annual leave that has been taken prior to the termination date will be deducted from any carry over from 2023 first, then purchased leave and finally contractual leave. If an employee has been unable to take all their purchased leave by their termination date, then a payment equivalent to the untaken leave will be included with their final salary. Any outstanding total purchase leave cost will also be deducted from their final salary. If the final salary is not sufficient to allow for the whole balance, they will be required to repay the outstanding amount within one month of the date of termination of their employment.
Further Information and Support
The provisions of the Scheme do not form part of the T&Cs of employment and, as such, Sanctuary reserves the right to amend or withdraw the Scheme without notice or consultation in the future. For all queries not covered in the guide, please contact the HR Service Desk on 0800 022 4200 or use the Self-Service Portal and go to HR General Enquiry form.
To find out more about the employee benefits and wellbeing support available from Sanctuary, please visit the My Rewards website which you can access at home, at work or on your mobile devices. If you are not yet registered, just click ‘Join’ and add your name and employee id, which you can get from your pay slip (remove any zero’s at the start of the number).