The Trust is relaunching an annual leave carry over buy-back scheme, meant for annual leave carried into 2023/2024.

This will enable the Trust to better manage colleague availability during 2023/2024. Annual leave carried forward into the annual leave year beginning 1st April and ending 31st March, will be available to be purchased by the Trust. Payments will be made on the next earliest pay date after submitting an application. For example, if an application is received in May, payment will be received in June’s pay date.  

It is important that colleagues think carefully before submitting a buy back application. Annual leave entitlements exist to provide colleagues with time away from the workplace and assist with their wellbeing. The Trust maintains its support for colleagues taking time off through annual leave.

The following principles apply to the scheme:

• It is open to all colleagues, excluding Directors.
• It applies to annual leave only, no other leave will be considered.
• Buy-back will only be considered for annual leave carried forward into the current 2023/2024 annual leave year.
• Buy-back will not be considered for any part of 2023/2024 annual leave entitlement or for any future annual leave year entitlement.
• The scheme is open until 31 March 2024.
• The Trust can close the scheme at any time.
• The relaunch of the scheme does not represent an ongoing adoption by the Trust of a policy to buy annual leave.
• The scheme is not contractual.
• Payments will be calculated using base pay rates only.
• Payments will be calculated using 2022/2023 salary values as at 31 March 2023.
• Buy-back payments are subject to income tax and National Insurance deductions.
• Payments are not pensionable.
• Payments will be made as a lump sum.
• Applications must follow the agreed process (set out below).
• Multiple applications per employee will be considered.
• Applications will require approval of the relevant service/line manager.
• Payments will be processed by the payroll team.

The following process must be followed:-

• Colleagues wishing to submit an application for buy back will complete the application template available at https://forms.office.com/r/dT7tTTv2rq.

All mandatory fields must be completed.

• Completed applications will be forwarded to the relevant service/line manager.
• Service/line managers will consider applications and complete a response template approving/declining buy back.
• In approving an application, service/line managers will be required to complete a declaration that it meets the scheme criteria.
• Declining an application may be appropriate if there are concerns about a colleague’s health and wellbeing potentially indicated by their sickness absence record.
• The Workforce and OD Directorate will collate all approved applications and confirm details to the payroll team.
• Payments will be processed by the payroll team.
• The Workforce Business Intelligence team in the Workforce and Organisational Development Directorate will amend annual leave records in ESR for approved buy back.

Any queries about the scheme can be posted to the operational HR team at AskHR@cht.nhs.uk.