Leave
Sickness & other leave administration
NDM reporting procedure for sickness absence (up to 7 calendar days)
A member of staff must report sickness by phone or email to their line manager on the first day of sickness and within an hour of their normal start time. They must state a reason for the sickness. It is the Line Manager’s responsibility to then inform the HR Operations team by email so that the sickness can be logged.
Employees must report to their line manager every day of sickness, unless they have a GP fit note with a specified planned return to work date.
On return to work all staff, regardless of length of sick leave need to complete a sickness absence record form which also serves as self-certification for the absence. If you want to discuss the sickness or any potential referrals to Occupational Health, please contact your Business Manager or NDM Employee Relations Partner to discuss your options.
If a manager does not hear from their employee, please let the HR Operations team know so that arrangements can be made to contact the employee
Fitness for work statements and sickness pay
A sickness period lasting up to 7 calendar days is self-certified following the procedure outlined as above. For sickness leave over 7 calendar days, a medical certificate (fitness for work statement) must be provided by the member of staff. Further guidance on fit notes and return to work is available here.
Please ensure fitness for work statements are forwarded immediately to the NDM Employee Relations Partner
If necessary HR will be able to advise regarding sickness pay including half pay and zero pay periods, which will depend on length of service. In some cases, we may involve Occupational Health if it is felt that this assessment and support would be beneficial.
University guidance for managers on how to deal with sickness absence, ill health at work and sick pay is available here
Leave administration (FAQs)
Here are some common questions that you may get from your team members along with the supporting guidance:
Q1. My child is unwell so I can't come to work, do I need to book annual leave?
- Normally annual leave should be requested in these circumstances. Paid leave may be granted to deal with emergencies. As line manager, you have the discretion to approve emergency leave. Full policy guidance is available here. In summary, paid leave may be granted to deal with emergencies and make arrangements for any ongoing care needs. This is usually limited to a period ranging from half a day to no more than 2 days. No more than 5 days of emergency leave may be taken in a 12 month period. If emergency leave is being approved, please report this to the HR operations team so that it can be recorded.
Q2. I have a doctor’s appointment; do I need to take annual leave?
- if it is necessary to arrange an appointment (during the normal working day) to see a doctor or dentist, attempts should be made to arrange the visit in such a way as to disrupt the work of the department as little as possible. The member of staff should contact their line manager as soon as possible should such a need arise. Permission to attend should not be unreasonably withheld and annual leave will not normally be required to be taken.
Q3. My partner/child/dependent has a planned hospital appointment and I want to attend to support, can I have the time off?
- If the time off is requested in advance it should not be unreasonably withheld but they will need to take annual leave, make the time back or take unpaid leave. There are policies for carers and also dependents (under 'leave for other reasons'). Guidance can be found here
Annual leave
Annual leave year runs from 1st Oct to 30th Sept.
Annual leave is booked and approved via HR self-service.
For support staff and most academic-related staff the holiday entitlement is 38 days inclusive of public holidays and fixed days of closure (pro rata if part-time or if the fixed term contract end sin the leave year). Some clinical academic-related staff on NHS-equivalent scales have different holiday entitlements. Further details available here
For full guidance on annual leave including FAQs, details of all the bank holidays and fixed closure days, see the NDM annual leave page.
At the end of a leave year, a request to carry over up to 5 days of unused annual leave can be made if there are exceptional circumstances and this will need to be approved by the Business Manager/Head of Function.
Family leave including FAQs
Here are some common questions that you may get from your team members along with the supporting guidance:
Q1. Where can I find out if a member of my team is eligible for family leave benefits?
Full guidance is available via the university's pages Family leave | HR Support (ox.ac.uk). We would recommend that at the earliest opportunity you contact the HR to discuss family leave options. The HR operations team are available to assist with any queries.
Q2. What is Shared Parental Leave (SPL)?
The SPL and Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) statutory scheme enables eligible parents, if they so wish, to share a period of leave and pay in the 52 weeks immediately following the birth or adoption of their child.
Eligibility for SPL is essential. Please read all the guidance in these Shared Parental Leave pages. Shared Parental Leave (SPL) | HR Support (ox.ac.uk)
Q3. Can staff accrue holiday during maternity leave?
Contractual annual leave (including bank holidays and fixed closure days) will accrue throughout the full 52 weeks of maternity leave. Full policy guidance can be found University's contractual maternity pay scheme | HR Support (ox.ac.uk) The HR Operations team will be able to advise on Annual leave accrual.
Q4 Does maternity pay come out from my grant?
Please discuss this with your Business Manager. There is full guidance for Principal Investigators and research group leaders on managing family leave issues Family leave - guidance for PIs | HR Support (ox.ac.uk)
Q5 Can I recruit maternity leave cover?
Yes, if funds are available this is possible. Please discuss all your recruitment options with the NDM Recruitment team
Process for requesting maternity leave (inc risk assessment & supporting policies)
Full details on applying for maternity leave are in the policy Family leave | HR Support (ox.ac.uk).
Employees are encouraged to contact the HR operations team and to share the news of pregnancy with their department as early as possible as it will mean that their department knows that they are entitled to time off for antenatal appointments and that particular health and safety rules apply. This information will be treated in confidence and will not be shared further without the employee's consent and to comply with H&S obligations.
As soon as the department has been notified by their employee that she is pregnant, they should arrange to carry out appropriate risk assessments. The RA will be completed by the H&S representative from your area. If you are unsure who that is then your BM/HoF will be able to advise. If the employee works in a high risk area (eg in a laboratory with harmful chemicals), this RA should be done in the first trimester of pregnancy (weeks 1-12). For further information see: Pregnancy and new parent employees | Occupational Health Service (ox.ac.uk)
The latest date an employee can inform the department is no later than 15 weeks before the expected week of confinement (EWC) , or if her employment begins after the qualifying week she should inform the University as soon as possible after she starts work. Maternity leave application forms are available to download here Family leave | HR Support (ox.ac.uk)
Return from family leave
When a member of staff is due to return to work, the HR Operations team will contact them approximately 12 weeks before the planned return date to help facilitate the return to work.
Returning careers fund
The Returning Carers' Fund is a small grants scheme intended to support the return to research of men and women who have taken a break for caring responsibilities; and to increase the visibility of the University's support for carers, with a view to changing perceptions of balancing a research or academic career with caring responsibilities. Further details are available here Returning carers' fund — Working for NDM (ox.ac.uk)
Family Friendly Policies — Working for NDM (ox.ac.uk) - NDM actively promotes the provision of a family friendly working environment. The University of Oxford recognises the demands on work life balance and offers a range of family friendly policies and practices which you can access here.
Further leave guidance & useful resources
Occupational health referrals
Occupational Health referrals can be made for members of staff to support their health and wellbeing in the workplace and they can provide advice and support on facilitating returns to work following sickness absence. If you would like to discuss making a management referral to occupational health for a member of your team then please speak to your Business Manager/Employee relations Partner in the first instance. More guidance on the support and services that Occupational Health offer is available here
Dealing with stress
There is full university guidance for line managers regarding work-related stress available here. Please speak to your Business Manager/Employee Relations Partner if you would like to discuss further.
Hospital appointments
If a member of your team has a hospital appointment they need to attend and has an appointment card/referral letter, then paid time off should be granted to allow them to attend the appointment and HR operations team must be notified so this can be recorded.
Other types of leave - including bereavement, emergency and carers leave
University guidance on other types of leave is available here. If you would like to discuss any requests for other types of leave please contact HR operations team
