This page contains information about holiday entitlements for staff at the University of Southampton, which consist of contractual holiday (annual leave), Bank Holidays and University Closure Days. This includes information about calculation of entitlements, the treatment of holiday entitlements for staff who start or leave during the holiday year and carry over of holiday.
You can also find links to the related policy documents at the bottom of the page.
All University staff have a holiday entitlement in hours. Please visit this page for more information.
Contractual holiday entitlements
University Closure Day entitlements
Booking off Bank Holidays and University Closure Days
Accrual of additional holiday with service (Levels 1-3)
Holiday entitlement in first and final years of service
Additional Holiday
The table below shows the contractual holiday entitlements by level and length of service.
As Level 1-2 staff work a 36 hour standard working week, Level 3 staff work a 35 hour standard working week and Level 4+ staff have a 35 hour nominal working week, full time equivalent holiday entitlements are represented in hours as follows:
| Level | Entry | After 1 year | After 2 years | After 3 years | After 4 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Levels 1a-2b | 144.0 hours | 151.2 hours | 158.4 hours | 165.6 hours | 172.8 hours |
| Level 3 | 140.0 hours | 147.0 hours | 154.0 hours | 161.0 hours | 168.0 hours |
| Levels 4-7 | 210.0 hours | ||||
If you work part-time, your entitlement to contractual holiday will be pro-rated to reflect the proportion of time that you work compared to the full-time equivalent.
University employees are entitled to leave on the Bank Holidays which fall within each annual leave year (i.e. 1 October to 30 September), pro rata for part time staff and subject to their contracts of employment.
There are normally eight Bank Holidays within the period 1 October to 30 September, however, this is subject to change (e.g. national events such as Royal Jubilees, weddings etc.).
As Level 1-2 staff work a 36 hour standard working week, Level 3 staff work a 35 hour standard working week and Level 4+ staff have a 35 hour nominal working week, full time equivalent Bank Holiday entitlements are represented in hours as follows:
| Level | Bank Holidays in days | @ FTE hours per day | Bank Holidays in hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Levels 1a-2b | 8 days | 7.2 hours per day | 57.6 hours |
| Level 3 | 7.0 hours per day | 56.0 hours | |
| Levels 4-7 |
If you work part-time, your entitlement to Bank Holidays will be pro-rated to reflect the proportion of time that you work compared to the full-time equivalent.
In addition to the University’s contractual holiday entitlements and eight Bank Holidays, there are up to six other days when the University is closed. These are known as University Closure Days.
University Closure Days usually fall between Christmas and New Year and around the Easter Weekend. However, exact dates are subject to change each year, depending on when the Christmas and Easter public holidays and weekends fall.
As Level 1-2 staff work a 36 hour standard working week, Level 3 staff work a 35 hour standard working week and Level 4+ staff have a 35 hour nominal working week, full time equivalent University Closure Day entitlements are represented in hours as follows:
| Level | University Closure Days in days | @ FTE hours per day | University Closure Days in hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Levels 1a-2b | 6 days | 7.2 hours per day | 43.2 hours |
| Level 3 | 7.0 hours per day | 42.0 hours | |
| Levels 4-7 |
If you work part-time, your entitlement to University Closure Days, will be pro-rated to reflect the proportion of time that you work compared to the full-time equivalent.
Bank Holidays and University Closure Days are booked off for you at the start of the holiday year. You may be asked to delete and re-book them, if you change your work hours/work pattern during the holiday year.
To help you manage your Bank Holiday and University Closure Day bookings, the following will be of help:
You can view a list of University closure days on the HR website closure date page.
You can also download all the University closure days into your Outlook calendar from the University Almanac.
Sick on a Bank Holiday or University Closure Day
If you are sick on a Bank Holiday or University Closure Day and it was a normal working day for you, you should delete the holiday booking so you can book a sickness absence on the day(s) instead.
Working on a Bank Holiday or University Closure Day
If, with the prior agreement of your line manager, you work on a Bank Holiday or University Closure Day that is a normal working day for you, then this booking needs to stay on the system (it will be automatically re-added if removed).
You may be entitled to compensation for working on the holiday, based on your contract or University policy. Any time off in lieu owing should be arranged outside of the system with your line manager. Please liaise with your line manager or speak to Ask HR to clarify your entitlements.
All staff have a work pattern recorded in the HR system. A work pattern sets out the days that you work and the hours that you work on these days. It is critical that your work pattern is an accurate reflection of the days and hours that you would normally work, as it determines the number of hours that will be deducted from your entitlement when you make a booking.
Note that there are a small number of exceptions to this in departments that are using a different system approach. If you are unsure whether this applies to you please contact Ask HR for more information.
You can view your work pattern on MyView by clicking "Account" → "View My Details" → "Appointment History" → select current appointment.
Contractual holiday entitlement at Levels 1-3 is dependent on service and starts at 20 days (144 hours for Levels 1-2 and 140 hours for Level 3), rising to 24 days (172.8 hours Levels 1-2 and 168 hours for Level 3) after 4 full years of service.
Your holiday entitlement (including Bank Holidays and University Closure Days) will be calculated on a pro-rata basis during the first and final years of employment to reflect the number of complete weeks of employment in the leave year.
If employees have taken more holiday than their pro-rata entitlement in the final year of their employment the appropriate deduction will be made to their final salary payment.
Line managers may require employees to take any outstanding holiday entitlements during their notice period when leaving employment. In such circumstances, and where possible, line managers must provide the employee with notice equal to the length of holiday to be taken.
Following a successful trial in 2020, any University employee can apply to purchase additional holiday. This is available whether you are full-time or part-time or employed on an open-ended or fixed-term basis, subject to specific limitations set out in the policy.
There is no qualifying length of service requirement, with the opportunity to apply at two points in the year; typically September and March.
Full details for staff and line managers, including our Additional Holiday policy, is available from this Sharepoint page.
Holiday entitlement can only be carried over from one year to the next in exceptional circumstances, where it has been impossible for an employee to take the holiday during the holiday year.
In these exceptional circumstances, staff may request to carry over up to five days (36 hours for Levels 1-2 and 35 hours for Level 3-7) holiday to the next holiday year, with approval from their line manager.
The window to request carry over holiday usually opens in October and staff can generally request it via an online form.
Specific instructions will be published each year prior to the opening of the carry over window.
Policy - Annual leave Level 1-3
Policy - Annual leave Level 4+ and academic staff
Guidance - Additional Holiday (line manager)