/Policies and guidelines/Special leave policy

Special leave policy

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Policy owner: People partner
Corporate lead: Director of people
Date approved by Joint Negotiating Consultative Forum(JNCF): 12 November 2025
Date ratified by Trust Leadership team: 17 December 2025
Date issued: 26 January 2026
Next review date: March 2029

Executive summary

This policy sets out Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust’s (the trust) special leave policy. The trust recognises the importance of supporting employees to maintain the balance between home and work. It is acknowledged that there will be
occasions when individuals are unable to attend work due to domestic emergencies, caring responsibilities, bereavement and civic duties. The trust supports a balanced approach to managing special leave in line with service requirements and the needs of all employees. This policy applies to all trust employees and may be reviewed at the request of management or staffvside by giving 4 weeks’ written notice with reasons for the review.

Equality analysis

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust’s vision is to provide the best possible care to every community. In support of this vision, with due regard to the Equality Act 2010 General Duty aims, Equality Analysis has been undertaken on this policy and any outcomes have been considered in the development of this policy.

Table of content

Introduction
Responsibilities
Applying for special leave
Entitlements to special leave
Bereavement leave
Child bereavement leave
Pregnancy and baby loss leave
Emergency personal leave
Compassionate leave
Carer leave
Voluntary public duties
Jury service
Attending court as a witness
Military service
Severe weather and travel disruption
Employment interviews
Blood donation
Appeals
Appendices

1. Introduction

The purpose of special leave is to help employees balance the demands of domestic and work responsibilities through the provision of paid and (or) unpaid leave according to the circumstances. The trust recognises the importance of supporting employees who have caring responsibilities and helping all employees to maintain the balance between home and work.

Special leave may also be needed for other situations such as voluntary public duties, court service, jury service, and for those employees who require leave for military service.

The trust has also made provisions for other leave that may be required at times in order to balance personal and work responsibilities; these include maternity, paternity, shared parental leave and parental leave, details of which
are contained within separate guidance.

2. Responsibilities

2.1 Joint responsibility

Good working relations are vital for the Trust to operate successfully and provide its essential services. Management, trade unions and employees accept the responsibility of working together on issues in good faith and with goodwill with the shared intention of facilitating good working relations.

2.2 Management responsibility

Managers are required to act fairly and consistently and are responsible for ensuring that the policy is disseminated effectively and is observed by all employees.

The responsibility for granting special leave will lie with the individual’s manager.

Managers should be sensitive to the fact that situations such as bereavement and caring responsibilities can arise without any warning and may leave the employee only a limited amount of time to respond. Therefore although the manager must ensure that leave is properly recorded, it is not always appropriate to ask employees to complete leave forms and to await the
authorisation before allowing the employee to take leave.

Managers are responsible for:

dealing with requests for special leave in a consistent and timely manner
ensuring the special leave application form (appendix 1) is completed by the employee for each episode of special leave (and accepting that this may not always be completed prior to taking leave)
ensuring all special leave is recorded on ESR, Health Roster and on monthly electronic timesheets for payroll
confirming in writing the reason why a request for leave is declined.

2.3 Employee responsibility

Employees are responsible for:

informing their line manager (prior to the start of their shift wherever possible) if they are unable to attend work, informing them of the reason
completing the special leave application form (appendix 1) before the leave is taken wherever possible, or on their first day back at work
ensuring reasonable and appropriate contact is maintained with their manager whilst absent from work.

2.4 Workforce responsibility

The Workforce department will work in partnership with managers and employee representatives to ensure employees are treated fairly and consistently within the framework of the policy.

The Workforce department will provide advice to managers of the options available should an employee make a request under this policy.

3. Applying for special leave

For unforeseen circumstances the special leave application form must be completed on the employee’s first day back at work.

For planned absences, for example, jury service or planned carer responsibilities, employees must give their manager as much notice as possible and complete the special leave application form prior to the commencement of leave.

4. Entitlements to special leave

There is no qualifying period for employees to receive entitlement to paid special leave as defined in this policy. The year is based on a rolling 12- month period and not an annual leave or calendar year.

Entitlements to paid special leave within a rolling 12 month period are as follows:

Bereavement leave: Up to one working week of paid leave (this is in addition to other special leave entitlements)
Child bereavement leave: Up to two working weeks of paid leave.
Pregnancy and baby loss leave: 10 days paid leave. 5 days paid leave for partners.
Emergency personal leave and Compassionate leave: Up to one working week1 of paid leave which may be taken in hours
Carers leave: Up to 5 working days paid leave, pro rata for part time staff.
Voluntary public duties: Up to 12 days (pro rata for part-time staff)
Jury service: Up to two weeks
Attending court as a witness: See section 11
Military service: Up to 2 weeks to attend annual camp

Please note: Bereavement leave is in addition to any entitlement taken for emergency domestic leave, compassionate leave or carer’s leave.

You must consider the above table in conjunction with the relevant section of this policy.

If any special leave is granted, it will be paid until the entitlements listed above are exhausted. If entitlements are exhausted, managers have the discretion to authorise unpaid leave as appropriate. Enhancements will not be paid for periods of special leave.

Leave may be requested in hours or full days.

5 Bereavement leave

The trust acknowledges the personal nature of bereavement and grief and is committed to supporting employees in practical and reasonable ways.

Bereavement leave is leave that allows the individual time off to deal with their personal distress and related practical arrangements, primarily, but not limited to, when a member of their family dies.

In the event of the death of an immediate relative, up to one working week’s leave will be granted. An immediate relative includes a spouse, civil partner or partner, child, parent, parent-in law, step-parent, sibling, grandparent or a person with whom the employee is in a relationship of domestic dependency.

Line managers have discretion to grant paid bereavement leave in excess of the above entitlement in exceptional circumstances. Managers are expected to act with compassion when dealing with all bereavement leave requests.

Managers have discretion to grant bereavement leave on the death of someone outside the immediate family. The length of time granted should be appropriate to the circumstances. Should bereavement leave not be granted, an employee may be able to take unpaid leave, annual leave or take time in lieu. Requests should be made to the employee’s line manager.

The trust recognises that loss of a close family member or friend may have a profound effect on the individual. Bereavement leave is intended only to provide an opportunity for the employee to focus on a very personal event without the distraction of everyday work. There is no expectation that granting this short period of leave will be sufficient for the individual to
recover from their loss.

Managers should be alert to the fact that employees returning from such leave may need extra help and support. In some cases managers may have to consider whether the employee is well enough to be at work or if a temporary change in working pattern would be helpful. Whilst this should, of course, be discussed with the individual, managers may want to seek advice and guidance from occupational health or human resources.

Employees who wish to access professional help in coming to terms with a significant loss may access counselling through the trust’s staff counselling service. This is a confidential service that employees can self-refer to.

6. Child bereavement leave

All bereaved parents are eligible for a minimum of two weeks of child bereavement leave. A bereaved parent is anyone who had responsibility as one of the primary carers for a child who is now deceased. This includes adoptive parents, legal guardians, individuals who are fostering to adopt, and any other parent and child relationship that the trusts deems to be reasonable. For example, this may include grandparents who have had caring responsibilities for a child, or instances where someone other than the biological parent is the primary carer (this could be the case where the parents of the child have separated). There is no requirement for the child to be under 18 years of age.

Bereaved parents do not have to take the two weeks of leave in a continuous block. Taking child bereavement leave is an individual choice, it is not compulsory for an employee to take child bereavement leave.

Bereaved parents may request to take child bereavement leave at any point up to 56 weeks following the death of the child. Should the parent wish to take child bereavement leave immediately following the death of a child they shall be able to do so upon informing their manager that they will be absent from work for this purpose. Should the parent wish to take child bereavement leave at another time, after the initial period following the death, they should give their manager reasonable notice of their intention to take the leave at this time.

Where both parents of a deceased child work for the trust, the entitlements will apply to both members of staff.

Parents who experience a still birth from the 24th week of pregnancy will be eligible for child bereavement leave.

Bereaved parents will at no point be required to produce the child’s death certificate, or any other official documents, in order to access child bereavement leave or pay.

The trust recognises that loss of a child may have a profound effect on the individual. Bereavement leave is intended only to provide an opportunity for the employee to focus on a very personal event without the distraction of everyday work. There is no expectation that granting this short period of leave will be sufficient for the individual to recover from their loss. Managers should be alert to the fact that employees returning from such leave may need extra help and support.

In some cases, managers may have to consider whether the employee is well enough to be at work or if a temporary change in working pattern would be helpful. Whilst this should, of course, be discussed with the individual, managers may want to seek advice and guidance from occupational health or human resources.

7. Pregnancy and baby loss leave

Employees who suffer a miscarriage in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy will be offered up to 10 days paid leave and their partners offered up to 5 days paid leave. Leave days are given on a pro-rata basis and pay is calculated on the basis of what the individual would have received had they been at work.

This includes, but is not limited to: miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy, and termination of pregnancy.

Those who experience a loss after 6 months of pregnancy will remain eligible for maternity leave. Please see the ‘Maternity Leave Guidance’ for more information.

This guidance is in line with the NHS England ‘National pregnancy and baby loss people policy framework’

In addition, colleagues are offered paid time-off for appointments linked to pregnancy or baby loss, for example, medical examinations, scans and tests and mental health related interventions, if this stretches beyond the time outlined above.

8. Emergency personal leave

The aim of such leave is to provide a caring response to an unplanned domestic emergency need. The types of emergencies this leave is intended to cover are for example where the employee has had a house fire, flood, or burglary which results in major loss or damage and requires the employee to
deal with the immediate nature of the incident. This list is not exhaustive.

9. Compassionate leave

When a seriously ill family member or person with whom an employee has a close continuing relationship (as identified in section 5) is diagnosed with a serious or terminal illness the employee may request permission to take leave as outlined in section 4.

10. Carer’s leave

This section should be read in conjunction with appendix 2 guidance to support staff with caring responsibilities.

The NHS England definition of a carer is:

A carer is anyone, including children and adults who looks after a family member, partner or friend who needs help because of their illness, frailty, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction and cannot cope without their support.

More information on the definition of a carer from NHS England

Requests may be made at short notice to deal with emergencies or may be agreed in advance to support planned occurrences, for example, appointments, hospital stays.

If the request is to deal with an unforeseen emergency the employee must contact their manager as soon as possible to advise them of the situation. In these circumstances, the special leave application form (appendix 1) must be completed retrospectively on the employee’s first day back at work.

If the request is for a planned period of absence, the carer’s leave application form (appendix 3) must be submitted as early as possible to enable the service to make alternative arrangements.

Employees are encouraged to complete a carer’s passport (appendix 4) and discuss their caring responsibilities with their manager.

Please note, in the scenario where a child, who is otherwise fit and well, falls ill and a parent is required to provide short notice care, other types of leave, for example, TOIL, annual leave and unpaid leave, in line with government guidelines, should be considered.

11. Voluntary public duties

Leave will be granted for employees who voluntarily undertake public duties. The Trust has an obligation to ensure that all employees are able to perform their duties safely and to protect its business interests. Therefore employees may not engage in any employment outside of the organisation until they have had prior approval3. An employee is entitled to time off work for certain public duties and services. The rights will vary depending on what work is done and what the duty or service is.

Employees have the right to time off to carry out the following public duties:

a magistrate (also known as a justice of the peace)
a local councillor
a school governor
a member of any statutory tribunal (for example an employment tribunal)
a member of the managing or governing body of an educational establishment
a member of a health authority
a member of a school council or board in Scotland
a member of the General Teaching Councils for England and Wales
a member of the Environment Agency or the Scottish Environment Protection agency
a member of the prison independent monitoring boards (England or Wales) or a member of the prison visiting committees (Scotland)
a member of Scottish Water or a Water Customer Consultation Panel

Employees should make a request to their line manager by completing the special leave application form (appendix 1) as soon as is reasonably practicable.

The time agreed is usually up to 12 days per rolling 12-month period for full- time staff and on a pro rata basis for part-time staff and those who work non- standard hours.

Subsequent changes in pattern or frequency of commitments should be communicated in writing as soon as possible. The line manager will then arrange a meeting to discuss the employee’s commitments to public duties, and to discuss what impact this may have on the service.

12. Jury service

Employees required to serve as jurors, shall be granted paid leave, for two weeks, for the purpose of attending court. However, if they are not selected for jury service for any reason, then they are required to report back to work as normal. Employees must claim loss of earnings allowance from the court if their jury service continues for longer than two weeks, and inform payroll of
this amount so it can be deducted from the individual’s salary. Any fees received (except travel and subsistence) must be reimbursed to the Trust.

13. Attending court as a witness

Employees summoned to attend court, tribunals, or appeal hearings on behalf of the organisation as witnesses during working hours are eligible for paid leave unless they are the subject of the court case when this will have to be taken in their own time. Any witness fee received (except for travel and subsistence) must be reimbursed to the trust. For medical and dental staff who attend court the fees for this can be kept by individuals if there is time shifting for NHS duties for example to a weekend.

Where the employee has been the victim of a crime and is required to give a witness statement to the police or attend court as a witness, they will be eligible for paid leave if this cannot be arranged outside of working hours. Any fee received (except for travel and subsistence) must be reimbursed to the trust.

14. Military service

Employees who are members of the Volunteer Reserve Forces (Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Marines Reserve, Territorial Army (TA) or Royal Auxiliary Air Force) are eligible for paid special leave for up to 2 weeks to attend training (annual camp).

Reservists should advise their line manager and payroll of any Military Allowance received during paid special leave, so that these can be deducted from the employee’s salary. Reservists who are mobilised will be granted unpaid leave. Reservists are entitled to return to the same type of job they were doing before they were mobilised, on the same terms and conditions. If the job no longer exists, they’re entitled to a reasonable alternative.

15. Severe weather and travel disruption

It is the duty of each individual employee to make their own arrangements to get to work at the normal time. It is, however recognised that some employees may, at times, experience severe difficulties in getting to and from work as a result of severe weather and (or) disruption to travel services.

However, all employees are expected to make all reasonable attempts to attend work in order for services to be maintained even if this means they will arrive late.

The trust wishes to stress that the delivery of service to client groups is of paramount importance and is the basis for decisions taken by managers regarding attendance (or continued attendance) at work.

Where the trust provides critical services, contingency plans should be developed locally in advance.

Where there is sufficient advance warning of severe weather then managers should agree appropriate arrangements with their team in line with this policy.

Where an employee has a disability which restricts their ability to travel then the employee and manager may wish to consider making contingency arrangements, bearing in mind ‘reasonable adjustments’ reflected in the Equality Act 2010. This may include, for example, working from home or working from another base.

Severe weather can be defined as snow, ice, fog, floods, which render journeys by road extremely hazardous. This can be by both public and private transport.

“Extremely hazardous” is defined as those conditions in which the police and (or) appropriate motoring organisations advise people not to make unnecessary journeys or indeed travel at all.

Disruption to travel services can be caused by:

severe weather conditions which result in delays and cancellations to public or private transport
major disruption to public services and private transport due to major accidents
industrial action by public transport services, for example, road and rail
severe fuel crisis.

During periods of severe weather all normal reporting procedures apply. A manager’s decision will seek to take account of any advice issued or sought by the Police, Met office and motoring organisations in relation to prevailing weather conditions and the advisability of travel.

Employees living within 2 miles or 30 to 45 minutes’ walk of their base will be expected to make every effort to get to work having due consideration for their health and safety.

Where employees are unable to attend for work, line managers are encouraged to:

explore the possibility of the employee performing their role from another site within the Trust (this will depend on the individual’s type of work and needs of the service)
request that individuals use annual leave, flexi time or outstanding lieu days, or in exceptional circumstances, unpaid leave
wherever possible to make up time on other occasions.

When the above are not possible, absence will be treated as unpaid leave.

16. Employment interviews

Managers will grant paid leave, wherever possible, to attend interviews within Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust being mindful of the needs of the service.

Paid leave will be granted to attend interviews external to the trust if the employee is under notice of redundancy or has been notified they are at risk.

For all other interviews, external to the Trust, this must be taken in the employee’s own time either as annual leave, lieu time or unpaid leave.

17. Blood donation

The Trust recognises the important work of the wider NHS by supporting staff who wish to make blood and (or) platelet donations. Time off in these circumstances will be treated as time off for medical appointments and staff are encouraged to discuss this with their managers to explore flexible working options.

18. Appeals

Should a request for special leave be declined the employee has the right to appeal the decision. Appeals should be submitted, in writing, to their manager’s manager, or the next level of manager who has not had any involvement in the original decision.

Should the manager considering the appeal disagree with the original decision, the special leave will be retrospectively awarded (if leave has been taken). If the manager considering the appeal agrees with the original decision not to grant paid carer’s leave, they should offer to meet with the individual to discuss the decision. The employee may be accompanied at this meeting by a colleague or union representative. Managers should seek advice from HR when considering the decision to decline an application for carer’s leave.

All decisions must be given in writing within 21 days of receipt of the appeal.

The outcome of the appeal is the final management decision on the application for carer’s leave.

19. Appendices

19.1 Appendix 1 Special leave application form

Special leave application form

19.2 Appendix 2 Guidance to support staff with caring responsibilities

19.2.1 Introduction

There are 6.5 million people in the UK who are carers and this number continues to rise. Three million carers combine caring for a relative or friend with paid work. Three in five people will become carers at some point in their lives and one in six people with caring responsibilities give up work or reduce their hours. The loss of income, savings and pension contributions can often lead to long-term financial hardship.

Caring may involve a few hours a week such as shopping, collecting medication or taking someone to appointments or it may involve providing personal care round the clock or acting as power of attorney.

Care may be carried out at a distance if the person being cared for does not live with the carer or it may be ‘fitted in’ around the time spent at work and looking after other family members.

The pressures of caring can impact on an individual’s physical and mental health.

The Equality Act 2010 protects carers of disabled and older people from direct discrimination. For example, you must not turn someone down for promotion because of their caring responsibilities if they are the best candidate for the job.

Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust is committed to supporting staff who are managing work with caring responsibilities. The Trust works closely with Carers Leeds who help us in thinking through our approach.

At LCH we recognise that many of our staff are carers, which at times can be challenging combining work with caring responsibilities. We are pleased to confirm that we have achieved accreditation as a Carer Confident Employer, as we have demonstrated that we are developing an inclusive workplace where carers are recognised, respected, and supported.

Please note: Any queries regarding this guidance can be made to the HR team on: 0113 2033455 or lch.hr@nhs.net

19.2.2 Who is this guidance for?

The NHS England definition of a carer is:

A carer is anyone, including children and adults who looks after a family member, partner or friend who needs help because of their illness, frailty, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction and cannot cope without their support.

More information on the definition of a carer from NHS England

A carer does not have to be the ‘primary’ carer. For example several siblings could be sharing the care of an elderly parent.

Nor does the carer need to a ‘registered’ carer. A carer may or may not be registered as such with their GP practice or receive caring related benefits, but there is no requirement for either of these circumstances in order to be considered a carer for the purposes of this policy.

Caring responsibilities can fall on staff at short notice.

Examples of when an employee could use carer’s leave include:

taking their disabled child to a hospital appointment
moving their parent who has dementia into a care home
accompanying a housebound dependant on a day trip
providing meals and company for an elderly neighbour while their main carer is away with work for the day.

Please note however that this list of examples is not exhaustive.

Caring responsibilities can be unpredictable. Employees may care for someone who has extended periods of being well, followed by intermittent periods of illness, for example depression and other mental illnesses.

Please note, in the scenario where a child, who is otherwise fit and well, falls ill and a parent is required to provide short notice care, other types of leave e.g.
TOIL, annual leave and unpaid leave, in line with government guidelines, should be considered.

19.2.3 Supporting employees with caring responsibilities

Managers are not expected to ‘resolve’ employee’s personal problems, however, they should show flexibility and understanding when dealing with requests for leave related to the employee’s caring responsibilities. Caring can often be a hidden issue and managers should develop and support a culture that encourages employees to be open about their caring responsibilities.

Employees are encouraged to have a conversation with their manager about their caring responsibilities as early as possible in order to put a plan in place in case a crisis arises. A record of what support has been put in place must be kept. The carer’s registration form (appendix 3) and carer’s passport (appendix 4) can be used for this purpose with the agreement of the employee.

Managers should be aware of any unconscious bias when dealing with requests, for example, I care for my parents and I don’t need any time off so why should they?’. Everyone’s situation is different and manager’s should be open minded and assess the individual circumstances of each request.

Some requests may be more difficult to accommodate than others, however, managers and employees should be flexible and willing to work together to try to resolve barriers. Managers should seek advice from human resources before considering whether to decline a request for carer’s leave.

Taking leave at short notice may be crucial when caring responsibilities fluctuate, for example when full-time care arrangements breakdown or the person being cared for falls ill.

Staff are not expected to exhaust their annual leave entitlement before applying for carer’s leave.

19.2.4 Further support for carers

19.2.4.1 Short-term requests for flexible working

Carer’s circumstances can change quickly and managers should consider requests to work flexibly at short notice wherever possible. This may include requests for flexible working where an employee cares for someone with a condition that can have long periods of being well, followed by periods of acute illness. These conversations may be outside the parameters of the trust’s flexible working policy.

Such short-term arrangements may include:

giving employees time or space to make personal telephone calls to resolve issues could help prevent them taking time off
prescribing core hours and allowing the employee to ‘flex’ outside of these hours
staggering start/finish times to allow employees to attend appointments and provide care
working from home
implementing a flexible-working pattern for less than 12 weeks (longer-term requests would be deemed permanent and must be dealt with in line with the flexible working policy).

Applications in these circumstances is via the special leave application form and must not extend past 12 weeks. If the arrangement is required in the longer term, a request can be made through the flexible working policy.

19.2.4.2 Long-term requests for flexible working

Employees who wish to apply for a permanent flexible working option should apply in line with the trust’s flexible working policy. You must have worked for the trust for at least 26 weeks prior to making an application and you may only make one application in a 12 month period.

19.2.4.3 Requests to buy additional annual leave

Employees are not required to exhaust their annual leave entitlement before requesting carer’s leave; however, they may if they wish, request to purchase additional annual leave in line with the trust’s annual leave policy.

19.2.4.4 Employee health and wellbeing support services

Employees can access additional support such as counselling and mindfulness sessions. Further details can be found on Your Health and Wellbeing intranet page.

19.3 Appendix 3 Carer registration form

Carer registration form

19.4 Appendix 4 Carer’s passport

Please access the full carer’s passport (staff access only) on the staff intranet.