Buying extra annual leave

[Scarlettjade]

Work have brought in a new policy, allowing staff to buy up to 5 additional annual leave days per year.

We currently get 28 days + bank holidays.

28 days is usually plenty enough annual leave, but I’m thinking that most people would jump at the chance of getting more time off work for only a small reduction in pay (buying 5 days would result in a 2% reduction on my annual gross salary).

Just keen to hear what others would choose to do?

It’s usually calculated as each day being 1/260th of your salary. Then multiply by the number of days bought.

Your payroll department are doing it wrong then, if you are getting less salary you should be taxed on less salary

Always buy an extra week's holiday. Have it in this job and in my last job too. Dc has 13 weeks of school holidays. Even buying the extra week I am a LONG way short of this. It's an extra week with dc so why wouldn't I?

Also I could take unpaid parental leave but I'd have to save up for it in advance & I get the full year to pay for this.

Dh worked for a company where they gave you points and you could convert these to holiday, private healthcare, company car dependent on the band you were in and some other things. He bought holiday so his yearly entitlement was 33 days I think. That was 15 years ago.

it is effectively taking unpaid leave but spreading the cost across the year rather than having the hit in a single pay packet. So it costs what you earn (but some people get a tax 'gain' from doing it).

It's the most popular benefit at my company we can buy an extra 15 days a year. Yes its unpaid leave but paid over the year it spreads the impact. Usually just buy a couple but next year will buy max as going to new Zealand

I also get to buy it at my wage for a standard day (7 and a half hours) so if I use it to book 12 hour days off I have gained 😁

Civil servant and we can apply for and purchase if approved up to 6 weeks. You have to use the bought holidays in blocks of 1 week (5days) which galls me a bit. If you buy them it should be up to you imo. I buy 2 weeks every year and barely notice the difference in salary.

Can you attach a bought week to a regular holiday week?

Or can you only have a fortnight if using all regular holiday?

I guess the six weeks purchased leave allows a parent to end up with enough for all school holidays? So someone effectively gets a term-time contract?

This is excellent.

I get 32 days plus bank holidays and always buy the additional 5 days. Never usually take any annual leave Jan-Apr except the bank holidays which usually means that I have a week off every month for the rest of the year.

I always buy the additional 5 days we are allowed to purchase. I've never regretted it.

It's called shorter working year in my place and it's 15 days.
And it's pro rated pay over the year

I always take it.

@calligraphee yes you can add bought week to annual leave. I think it is to stop staff working a 4 day week as it would be a material change to their contract of employment. We're in Scotland and this is fairly standard. We actually get an amazing leave allowance too which means if you bought 6 weeks you could probably end up only working 3/4 year. Probably why I've been here 25 years now.

We get 30 days annual leave plus bank hold and 3 closure days. We can buy 10 days unpaid and I usually get them all - so handy for time off with the kids, or just an extra week to get stuff done.

Thanks for explaining!

<goes to look at CS jobs>

OP you can always earn. You will never get the days of your life back.
Worth it!

Sadly not offered, but take a week’s unpaid parental leave most years.

I have this year bought an extra week . After I earn a certain amount UC take 55 p of every £1 I earn so will be amazing for me .

I'm considering asking for a weeks unpaid leave this year because I used up some holiday when DH was ill and now I haven't got enough to do what I'm committed to for the rest of the year. (Looking after DGC and weekends away which also need either a Monday or a Friday).
Not sure how well this will go down.
Never asked for unpaid leave before.

I would definitely buy it now.

But when I was junior, and skint, I didn't... I didn't have cash to go on loads of holidays anyway and there was always too much month left at the end of my pay packet so didn't want any reduction!

I'd be one of those people who struggled to use up my leave as I'd hesitate to use it on staying at home... was always hoping I'd be flush enough soon to do something nice... but never was!

I always buy the maximum I can. Some years I rollover a day or two but usually I use it all. Like a lot of people I prefer the time over the money.

Can you sell them back if you don't use them. I buy the maximum allowed of 13 days extra a year, invariably I sell them back (at the salary I have at the point I sell them - so if I get a pay rise in the year, I sell back at a higher rate than I bought them for).

I always buy the maximum. Just moved to a company that lets you buy 12 days on top of 28+BHs.

wow, that’s brilliant! My work doesn’t allow sell back.

Husband always has an extra 6 days a year