ALPS Procedure

1.1 The University is committed to promoting staff health and wellbeing, and supporting staff to achieve a healthy work-life balance. 

1.2  It is recognised that there may be times when some members of staff may wish to take more than the standard contractual entitlement of annual leave. This policy provides the opportunity for staff to apply to purchase additional annual leave through salary sacrifice, subject to certain conditions. This does not affect existing unpaid leave provisions. 

2.1 The policy applies to all staff who have; 

• completed 12 months service, and who 
• have a substantive contract with no end date or a fixed term contract that covers the entire annual leave year, and who 
• meet the earnings criteria set out in paragraph 3.10

2.2 The policy does not apply to staff who are: 

• Engaged on fixed-term or temporary contracts that have an end date within the applicable annual leave year; 
• Engaged on term time only contracts; 
• Casual workers 
• Engaged on annualised hours contracts where an annual leave allowance is provided; 
• Engaged via agencies;  
• Anyone whose annual leave is rolled into payments 
• Employed by University subsidiary companies

3.1 The annual leave year runs from 1 May to 30 April each year. 

3.2 Members of staff who meet the eligibility criteria can apply to buy additional annual leave of up to 74 hours (the equivalent of 10 days for a full time contract)  in each annual leave year. This amount is pro ratad for staff on non standard contracts. 

3.3 All leave requested and granted under this policy will be processed in hours for both full-time and part-time staff.  

3.4 The purchase of additional annual leave is via a salary sacrifice arrangement. Salary sacrifice is an agreement between the University and the member of staff to vary their terms and conditions of employment to reduce their entitlement to cash pay, in return for a benefit. The benefit in this case is additional annual leave. The salary sacrifice arrangement is financially beneficial, as the benefit is exempt from tax and national insurance contributions. 

3.5 There will be one application window per year in February for staff to purchase annual leave.  

3.6 All completed applications must be received by HR by midnight on 28 February.  

3.7 The purchase of additional annual leave must be repaid in full within the leave year to which the additional leave applies. The only exceptions to this would be when a nil pay situation arises outlined at 8.2. 

3.8 Twelve equal monthly deductions will be taken from salary from the commencement of the leave year in May. 

3.9 The application and authorisation of requests are treated individually and will only be valid for the current leave year.  

3.10 The University will decline an ALPS application if it doesn’t meet the eligibility criteria.  

3.11 Staff whose post-salary sacrifice pay would be less than the National Living Wage (ages 21 or over) or National Minimum Wage (from school leaving age) per year, will not be permitted to purchase additional leave. 

3.12 The salary date used for the calculation and agreement will be 1st April. 

3.13 Purchased annual leave will be added to the staff member’s annual leave entitlement for the year and may be taken at any time during the annual leave year, subject to the usual approval arrangements. 

3.14 Purchased annual leave cannot be carried over into the next leave year, unless there are exceptional circumstances preventing the leave being taken in the current leave year.  

3.15 There will be no reimbursement for unused purchased annual leave. Carry-over rules for normal contractual annual leave remain unchanged. 

3.16 Once the variation to contract has been issued, and the deduction of payments has commenced, it becomes a binding agreement between the member of staff and the University.  

3.17 Where staff member leaves the University part way through the leave year, their annual leave allowance (contractual and purchased) will be recalculated on a pro-rata basis up to their last day of employment. Any debit in the amount of leave taken, or balance of monies to be repaid in respect of days bought, will be recovered automatically from the member of staff’s final pay.  

3.18 The University requires that, where possible, outstanding leave of any type is taken in the notice period. 

4.1 Staff who wish to purchase additional annual leave should refer to the eligibility and calculation pages before completing an application form. 

4.2 Managers may wish to start early discussions (before the application window) with their teams about acceptable application levels. This is helpful for both planning purposes and for managing staff expectation.  

4.3 Member of staff completes an ALPS Application Form confirming eligibility, the amount of annual leave requested and their consent to monthly deductions if authorised. 

4.4 For staff who do not have access to a work or personal computer, a hard copy application form can be downloaded by the relevant line manager to complete and submit.

4.5 The form moves to the line manager to verify eligibility. If the manager declines at this stage, written notification will be issued to the staff member. 

4.6 If the application then moves to HR Payroll to conduct finance eligibility tests i.e. are there other deductions or salary sacrifice arrangements in place that prevent the member of staff from purchasing additional annual leave (see 3.11). If the application is declined at this stage, written notification will be issued to the staff member.  

4.7 The application then moves to HR Services team to issue the variation of contract letter outlining the salary change, the amount and the duration term. HR Services will also notify the staff’s School/Service Admin teams to update annual leave balance.  

4.8 The cost of approved purchased leave will be deducted from the staff members gross salary on a monthly basis over the course of the leave year. 

4.9 At the end of the leave year, the member of staff’s salary returns to the original amount. 

5.1 Additional annual leave will be purchased by the member of staff through a salary sacrifice arrangement.  

5.2 The calculation will be: 

**This should be above £12.21 per hour (National Living Wage) or £10.00 (National Minimum Wage age 18-20) 

6.1 Child Tax Credits (CTC) or Working Tax Credits (WTC) are based on income from the previous tax year ending on 5 April. Staff purchasing additional annual leave, and making a new claim for CTC or WTC, should use their revised salary figure when making an application.  

6.2 Statutory benefits such as Sick Pay and Maternity, Paternity and Adoption Pay may be affected by the salary sacrifice arrangement, due to the impact this has on total gross pay. 

6.3 Staff earning less than the lower earnings limit for National Insurance Contributions, who are in receipt of other benefits, should contact the relevant Benefits Office for advice on whether their benefits would be affected by purchasing additional annual leave.

7.1 Staff in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) who purchase annual leave will see a reduction in their pension contributions for the duration of the agreement. This is because LPGS only allows specific salary sacrifice arrangements. Affected staff can choose to make Additional Pension Contributions (APCs) to LGPS. 

7.2 There is no pension impact to staff in the USS pension scheme. 

8.1 If the staff member changes their hours or position part way through a year, resulting in an increase or decrease in salary, the deductions will be made as agreed (using salary taken at 1 April). 

8.2 If the staff member enters a nil or statutory pay situation (e.g. due to sickness absence or maternity/parental leave) and the purchased annual leave has already been taken, deductions recommence once they have sufficient salary to cover the deductions. This is an example of when purchased annual leave is paid for in a different leave year. If they do not return to work following the period of nil pay, they may be invoiced for any outstanding amounts due. 

8.3 If the staff member enters a nil pay situation and has not taken the annual leave purchased, this will resume on return to work even if this moves into the next annual leave year. Managers and staff can seek advice from HR. 

8.4 If the staff member applies for, and is granted, unpaid leave greater than one month, in addition to purchased annual leave, an adjustment to the monthly deductions will be made to take account of the month(s) in which no salary is paid. This will ensure the full amount owed is repaid in the leave year for which the leave was purchased. The actual arrangement agreed will be dependent on the length and timing of the unpaid leave. In some cases, this may mean that the full amount owed is deducted from the last salary payment immediately prior to the period of unpaid leave. 

9.1 The University recognises that staff may need to change a salary sacrifice arrangement where a lifestyle change significantly alters financial circumstances. This may include:

• Marriage/civil partnerships 
• Divorce 
• Redundancy 
• Promotion/re-grading 
• Long-term absence  

9.2 If a lifestyle event occurs, staff can opt out of the scheme by notifying the Payroll team with their payroll number, details of the life event and when they wish to stop their deduction. This will stop the deductions from their pay and the annual leave balance would be amended to reflect the amount of annual leave purchased prior to opting out.

Line Managers 

10.1 To consider the resource implications of granting requests to purchase additional annual leave and ensure there is adequate service cover.

It is important that additional costs are not incurred in order to provide cover (e.g. agency or overtime payments). 

10.2 To ensure that the procedure is applied fairly for all eligible members of staff. 

10.3 To ensure that locally agreed processes for recording and booking leave is in accordance with this procedure.

Schools / Services Administrators 

10.4 Schools/Services Administrators will input application requests into a User Defined Field in iTrent.  

10.5 Administrators will also be responsible for updating local leave balances and ensuring that purchased annual leave is not carried over unless in accordance with 8. Changes in Salary. 

Staff

10.6 To discuss their requirements for purchased annual leave with their line manager as soon as is reasonably practicable, in order for the impact on the work area to be assessed in a timely manner.  

10.7 To establish the impact and amount of the monthly deductions from their salary by using the ALPS calculators. 

10.8 To understand whether purchasing annual leave will affect any other benefits to which they are entitled.  

10.9 To check with their line manager that, where they wish to purchase annual leave for specific events/dates, those dates are available, as purchasing annual leave does not guarantee the dates will be approved. 

Human Resources 

10.10 To provide guidance to Heads of Schools/Department/Division, Managers, and staff, on the application of the policy and scheme. (HR Reward & Benefits).

10.11 To ensure that the gross take home pay after purchasing additional annual leave (with any existing salary sacrifice arrangements) remains above National Living Wage. (HR Payroll).  

10.12 To process variation to contracts and update Schools/Services of the outcome. (HR Services).

10.13 To ensure that the Policy is communicated to all staff.  (Reward & Benefits) 

10.14 To monitor and report uptake of the scheme (Reward & Benefits) 

11.1 The University recognises the diversity of its members of staff and the local community, and aims to provide a safe environment, free from discrimination, and to treat all individuals fairly, with dignity, and appropriately according to their needs.  

11.2 These procedure and the impact on equality have been reviewed, and no detriment has been identified.

12.1 All parties involved in the operation of this procedure have the responsibility for ensuring that its application is in line with the University’s commitment to promoting and advancing equity, diversity and inclusion.

12.2 This procedure will be monitored and reviewed on a regular basis, to ensure that it meets the needs of the University, and to ensure compliance with the relevant legislation.