Leave and absence

Page updated: 29/10/2026

We are committed to improving the work life balance of employees. We recognise that there are certain occasions/times when short-term or long-term periods of time off are necessary outside of the annual leave entitlement.

Important!

If you are planning on taking time off work but are unsure of the type of time off that you may be entitled to, you may benefit from taking a look at the Time Off Policy - February 2026 in the first instance.

This will signpost you to the types of time off that are available and whether they are paid or unpaid.

Adoption & Surrogacy Leave

The rights to adoption leave and pay entitle eligible employees to take paid leave when a child is newly placed for adoption and employees who become legal parents of a child by applying for a parental order in a surrogacy situation.

Adoption & Surrogacy Leave

Annual Leave

Your holiday year starts on your birthday.

Annual Leave

Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave

Bereaved partner's paternity leave is an extended form of unpaid paternity leave. It is intended to support employees in the sad event that the mother or adopter of their child dies within the first year of their child's life or adoption.

Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave

Career Break

Career breaks offer an extended period of unpaid time away from work without you having to terminate employment.

Career Break

Carers Leave policy

This policy sets out our commitment to supporting carers and the procedure for managing a request from an employee for Carer’s Leave in line with the Carer’s Leave Act 2023.

Carer’s Leave Policy

Compassionate Leave

Up to a maximum of 5 days paid time off (pro rata part time) is available in the event of the death, critical illness or injury of a member of your immediate family.

Compassionate Leave

Disruptions to working arrangements

It is accepted that we cannot plan for every eventuality, and on occasion disruptions may arise that will affect a significant part of the workforce.

Disruptions to Working Arrangements

Flexi-time

The flexi-time scheme allows you to have an element of flexibility over your working hours.

Flexi-time

Flexible working

Under the Children and Families Act 2014, all employees have a statutory right to request a change to their contractual terms and conditions of employment to work flexibly subject to the eligibility conditions set out.

Flexible Working and Job Share

Maternity Leave

All pregnant women, irrespective of length of service or hours worked, are entitled to 52 weeks maternity leave consisting of 26 weeks Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML) and 26 weeks Additional Maternity Leave (AML).

Maternity Leave

Neonatal Care Leave and Pay Policy - April 2025

Neonatal care leave is designed to assist new parents of babies who are admitted into neonatal care.

Neonatal Care Leave & Pay Policy - April 2025

Parental Leave

Read our full Policy here.

Parental Leave Policy

Paternity Leave

Read our full Policy here.

Paternity Leave

Purchase of Additional Annual Leave

This scheme is available to most staff, excluding staff employed by locally managed schools.

Purchase of Additional Annual Leave

Resource Link

Visit the Resource Link to manage leave and find out how your leave is calculated.

Resource Link

Shared Parental Leave

Shared Parental Leave is intended to allow parents greater flexibility and choice in how they care for their child in its first year.

Shared Parental Leave

Time off for dependants

All employees (regardless of their length of service) have the right to take a ‘reasonable’ amount of unpaid time off work without notice to deal with particular unexpected emergencies affecting their dependants.

Time off for dependants

Unpaid Leave

When you take unpaid leave you will retain your position in the Authority, and retain benefits, but you will not receive salary.

Unpaid leave