The purchasing additional annual leave scheme allows you to apply to buy up to two working weeks of additional annual leave, (74 hours for full-time employees or pro-rated for part-time employees), while spreading the cost over the leave year.
To apply, you should use the My Form on MyView. If you are not able to do so and require a paper copy, please contact:
Your manager will let you know if your application is approved or not.
Applications have now closed and any purchased leave will be added to your balance by the end of January 2025.
General information and FAQ's for employees
How many hours can I purchase?
The maximum amount of leave that can be requested in a leave year is two working weeks, 74 hours for full-time employees or pro-rated for part-time employees.
How much will it cost and how do I pay for it?
Check the salary scales for your hourly rate of pay and then multiply that by the number of hours leave you wish to purchase. This will give you an annual amount. Payroll will deduct 1/12th of the annual amount each month from your salary.
If your pay changes, for example, for incremental progression, or moving to a new post, the amount of money deducted each month will be amended accordingly.
Do I qualify for the scheme?
This is available to all employees except teachers and associated professionals who cannot participate due to their national conditions of service.
Non-teaching term time employees with fixed leave dates can apply to take purchased leave outwith the school holiday periods, as long as their service can accommodate this. If this applies to you, you should note on your application when you would like to take the requested leave.
How do I apply?
You should use the My Form on MyView to apply. The forms are accessible on the desktop and mobile app. If you are not able to use this form, contact the HR Helpdesk who can provide you with a paper application form which you should complete and pass to your manager.
If you have more than one post, you must make an application for each post you wish to purchase leave from.
If you start work with the Council after the deadline date you will not be able to take part until the following leave year.
You should note that by completing and submitting the form for purchasing annual leave that, if approved, this form also constitutes your consent to any applicable salary adjustment.
Can my request be refused?
There will be times when the needs of the Service or certain posts means it is not possible to approve additional leave. It is a requirement of the scheme that service provision must not suffer.
Managers can also look at sickness absence in the previous year - 96% attendance is normally needed. Managers can also look at leave carried forward.
How will I find out if my request has been approved?
If you have used MyView to apply, your line manager will review your request and you will receive an email confirmation to let you know if your leave has been approved.
If you have not used MyView to apply, your line manager will review your request and let you know if your leave has been approved.
When can I take the purchased annual leave?
Your purchased annual leave should be the first days taken from your entitlement unless you are a term time worker. You should book leave in the normal way. If you don't use the leave you have purchased then it will be lost as no carry over of purchased annual leave is allowed. No refunds or credits will be given.
What happens if I am off sick?
If you are off sick and are unable to take the purchased leave during the leave year it will be lost and no refund will be given.
What if I am on a temporary contract?
You can apply if you are on a temporary contract. If your contract does not run for the full year and your application is approved then any remaining balance due will be taken from your final salary.
What happens if I leave during the annual leave year?
Normal rules will apply for annual leave if you leave employment, including the end of temporary contracts. The full outstanding annual amount will be deducted from your final salary. For example: if you leave in June, your payments for June – December will be taken from your final salary. No refunds are available.
What if I want to withdraw from the scheme?
In exceptional circumstances, you can request to withdraw from the scheme during a leave year. Your manager will review your request. If this is allowed HR/Payroll can confirm the level of payment already deducted and calculate the equivalent number of hours leave already paid. You should use leave already purchased but payments will no longer be deducted from your pay. Refunds will not be made for leave already purchased. For example – if you wish to withdraw in August, you will not receive a refund from January to July, however, the leave you have paid for until July must be taken.
Does this affect my pension contributions?
As this is classed within the unpaid leave provision of less than 31 days, your pension contributions will be taken automatically and you will not miss out on any pensionable service. For example if you are paid £1500 per month and have a £100 deduction for 2 days unpaid leave, you will still have your pension contributions deducted based on pensionable pay of £1500 for that month.
General information for managers
Is there an expected level of attendance?
Employees participating in the scheme are expected to have a good level of attendance (recommended 96% in the last 12 months). You must review each case on an individual basis and take into consideration previous attendance records and the reasons for any absence, including those related to a disability. You should seek
advice from your HR Business Partner to ensure compliance with equality legislation.
How do I calculate attendance?
Take the number of actual sick days in the period (recommended to be the 12 months before the application is approved) and divide this by 260 (no. of working days) and multiply by 100 to give you a percentage.
If an employee has had more than 10 days sick leave, they will have less than 96% attendance.
What about employees on maternity leave?
Employees on maternity leave can participate in the scheme on their return to work if they apply as normal. Periods of maternity leave should be excluded from the attendance calculation.
What if my employee has sickness absence after an application is approved?
You should review cases where an employee is on sick leave after the additional leave is approved and before the start of the leave year as this may affect their eligibility to participate in the scheme. If an employee’s absence means that they do not achieve an acceptable attendance level then this may mean, depending on the circumstances of the case, that they cannot purchase annual leave and the application would need to be cancelled. You should speak to the HR Helpdesk as soon as possible and before this decision is taken.
How do I process applications?
For employees using MyView, you will receive an email alert when a form is submitted and you should review this. If you are approving this in full then you can authorise the form. If you cannot accommodate the request in full you can reject the form and put comments on this. The employee will then need to submit a new form.
For employees using the paper form - they should pass you their paper form and you should review this. If you can accommodate the request, you should sign off the form and email this to hrhelpdesk@falkirk.gov.uk by Friday 15 November to allow us to process the payroll deduction. You should advise the employee that this has been approved. If you cannot accommodate this, then you must advise the employee and you do not need to send the form to HR Helpdesk.
How is the purchased leave recorded?
The purchased leave will be added to the MyView entitlement by Payroll during January 2025.
What if I have to refuse a request?
There will be times when the needs of the Service or certain posts means it is not possible to approve additional leave. It is a requirement of the scheme that service provision must not suffer.
Where you are unable to grant the request, the employee has the right to seek written notification of the reasons for the refusal.