Additional leave compliance rules and complexities

Annual leave

The longer an employee spends in a role, the more statutory annual leave they accrue. For their first 5 years in a role, employees get 14 days’ annual leave a year. For the following 5 years, they get 21 days’ annual leave a year. If they’re in a role for more than 10 years they get 28 days’ annual leave. And if they’re in a role for more than 20 years they get 35 days’ annual leave.

Sick leave

An employee’s length of service also determines their sick leave allowance. For their first five years in a role, employees get 3 months’ paid sick leave. This extends to 6 months once the employee’s been in their role for more than 5 years. Anyone with dependents can get twice as much sick leave allowance.

Maternity and paternity leave

Women can take up to 90 days’ maternity leave, of which they must take 30 days before birth. Men can take 2 days of paid paternity leave, and all employees can take up to 10 days’ marriage leave and up to 3 days’ bereavement leave. Finally, employees who are in secondary or further education can take up to 2 days of consecutive leave for exams, so long as they take no more than 10 days’ examination leave in a year.