Special leave

F35 Applying for special leave

An application for special leave, whether paid or unpaid, should be submitted via the OHR6 form to the Accounting Officer as far in advance as possible of the date of the first day of leave requested and the reason for the leave should be clearly stated. Special leave should not be regarded as an entitlement but Accounting Officers should treat each application on its merits.

F36 Special leave record keeping

Accounting Officers should ensure that records are kept of all special leave taken, whether paid or unpaid and that respective pay sections and the Public Sector Pensions Authority are notified of all periods of special leave taken.

Last updated: 17 January 2011 - Amendment no. 10-012

F37 Special leave pay determination

In determining whether special leave without pay should be granted Accounting Officers should mainly have regard to the effect of such leave on the discharge of public business. Additionally, in determining whether special leave with pay should be granted Accounting Officers will need to be satisfied that the circumstances of the particular case justify such a concession.

F38 Public Services Commission  approval

If the reason for applying for special leave, whether paid or unpaid, does not fall within the categories detailed in Regulations F41 to F65 (including Elective Surgery and Bone Marrow Donors), the application must be sent to the Public Services Commission along with the views of the Accounting Officer. The Commission, taking into account any such views, will decide whether the application should be approved.

Where specific periods with pay are laid down, they must not be exceeded without authority from the Public Services Commission.

Further Information

The Commission also has policies regarding special leave for the following cases:

• Bone Marrow Donors - Special Leave
• Elective Surgery

details of which can be found in the Public Services Commission Civil Service Regulations Handbook 2015.

Last updated: 17 June 2014 - Amendment no. 14-012

F39 Saturdays and Sundays during special leave

Saturdays not due to be worked and Sundays occurring at the beginning or end of a period of special leave (with or without pay) should not be reckoned as part of the period of special leave.

F40 Bank, public and privilege holidays during special leave

Bank, public and privilege holidays, Saturdays and Sundays occurring within a period of special leave should be treated as follows:

1. Special Leave with Pay - Bank, public and privilege holidays need not be reckoned towards any prescribed limit to the number of days which may be taken as special leave therefore there is no entitlement to a day in lieu on return to duty
   
   
2. Special Leave without Pay - Bank, public and privilege holidays and Saturdays and Sundays need not be reckoned towards any prescribed limit to the number of days which may be taken as unpaid special leave, but no pay should be issued for such days

With effect from 1 August 2003, the granting of special leave with or without pay for Urgent Personal Circumstances is a matter for departmental discretion and the guidance given below does not affect the exercise of that discretion by the Accounting Officer in deciding whether a period of special leave requested, is necessary and justified. 

A) Urgent Personal Circumstances

Periods of special leave with pay may be granted up to a maximum of 10 days in any period of 12 months to deal with urgent personal circumstances (including bereavement/care of dependents).

The amount of time to be granted will depend on individual circumstances eg. the death of a close relative involving off-Island travel may require a longer period of absence than the death of a close relative on the Island.

B) Paternity Leave

See Regulations F116 – F125 for Paternity Leave

Last updated: 17 June 2014 - Amendment no. 10-011

Special leave of absence with pay, within a maximum allowance of 7 days per annum, may be allowed to a civil servant to enable him to study for approved examinations which he chooses to take in subjects relevant to work in the Civil Service.

The days to be taken should be selected to cause the minimum interference with official work. The number of days granted within this allowance is a matter for the Accounting Officer to determine having due regard to the examination standard and the number of papers to be taken.

Note: As a general guideline, the maximum allowance granted should not normally exceed 1 day for each 3 hour examination. However, this may be increased depending on the standard of the examination to be taken.

Special leave of absence with pay (subject to a maximum allowance of 20 working days per annum) may be allowed to a civil servant to enable him to study for examinations which he is required to take by his department. The days taken should be selected to cause the minimum interference with the work of the department. The actual number of days granted up to the maximum allowance is a matter for the Accounting Officer to determine having due regard to the examination standard and the number of papers to be taken.

Note: Regulations F44 – F45 are blank.

A civil servant may be allowed special leave with pay for attendance at Civil Service examinations and for examinations held in connection with a course of study approved by the Public Services Commission for the purposes of further education. Special leave with pay shall also be allowed for attendance at examinations which civil servants are required to take by their department.

With effect from 1 August 2003, time off will be granted for public duties as provided by Section 39 of the Employment Act 2006 (previously Section 28 of the Employment Act 1991) , to a civil servant who is:

• a Justice of the Peace
• a member of a local authority
• a member of any statutory tribunal
• a member of a hospital administration committee or
• a member of the managing or governing body of a school maintained by the Department of Education and Children

and in addition, to a civil servant who is a member of

• an RNLI lifeboat crew
• the Civil Defence
• the Auxiliary Coastguard

The maximum amount of paid time off in any period of 12 months will be 5 days and any such time will be subject to the reimbursement to Government of any fees so received in respect of these Public Duties.

If approval is given for a civil servant to be a lay member of any public body (as defined within The Payment of Members’ Expenses (Specified Bodies) Order 2003) the above provisions in respect of time off and the reimbursement of fees will apply.

Last updated 28 February 2012 - Amendment No 11-005

Any civil servant summoned for jury service shall be granted special leave with pay. In these circumstances any allowance paid to the civil servant as compensation for loss of earnings that have not in fact been lost shall, on his return to work, be paid in full to his Accounting Officer who shall transmit the same to the appropriate pay section. Provided that where a civil servant is required to perform jury service on a day on which he was not scheduled to work (ie on a weekend, rest day or during a period of leave) he shall be permitted to retain the juror's allowance paid to him in respect of that day.

Any allowance paid to him for travelling expenses and parking fees may be retained by the civil servant.

A civil servant receiving a summons to serve on a jury should inform his Accounting Officer immediately unless he is clearly ineligible or disqualified and has so notified the Coroner (or his Lockman).

Note: Regulations F49 – F50 are blank.

F51 Participation in sporting events

A civil servant, who is selected to compete in the Olympic, Commonwealth or Island Games, should be granted 5 days' special leave, with pay, to enable them to do so.

A member of staff who is both coach and carer to athlete(s) who are selected to compete in the Paralympics, Special Olympics Winter and Summer will be granted up to 5 days paid special leave.

For clarity, this is in instances where the athlete would be unable to participate without the attendance of their coach, as the coach undertakes the role of carer in addition to that of coach.

These provisions are not extended to coaches of athletes who do not require such arrangements. These coaches are required to use annual, flexi or unpaid special leave if they wish to attend sporting events.

F52 Other national or international sporting events

Special leave should not be made available in respect of other national or international sporting events, it being left to the civil servants concerned to make provision out of their annual leave.

Note: Regulations F53 – F56 are blank.

In the interests of good industrial relations civil servants may apply for reasonable facilities (using the form provided) in accordance with the Public Services Commission Facilities Agreement 2015 by way of special paid and unpaid leave for the performance of union duties and activities. A copy of the Agreement can be found at the Annexes to Section H of these Regulations.

Note: Regulations F58 – F59 are blank.

Volunteer members of the Non Regular Forces who:

1. attend the 2 week Summer Camp shall be granted the 10 days' leave required as paid special leave where their normal annual leave allowance is 25 days or less. Where their annual leave allowance exceeds 25 days, the amount of special leave granted should be reduced by 1 day for each day the annual leave allowance exceeds 25 days
   
   
2. subject to the note below, leave with pay shall also be granted to members of the Non-Regular forces who are required to undertake training additional to attendance at Summer Camps and who are unable to arrange for such training to be on days when they are not normally working

Under the Reserve Forces Act 1996 (an Act of Parliament) as it has effect in the Isle of Man, volunteers may be required to undertake training up to 16 days per annum (usually on Saturdays and Sundays). Territorial Army Units should be in a position to offer alternative dates and the onus is therefore on the civil servant to try to arrange for the training to be undertaken in off-duty time. If this is not possible, the civil servant should furnish alternative dates so that mutually acceptable dates may be found.

Note: Last updated: 15 December 2011 - Amendment no. 11-018

Note: Regulations F61 – F62 are blank.

Membership of the Retained Fire Brigade is a second employment and requires the permission of the Accounting Officer as provided for in Section A to these Regulations. Paid time off will not be granted for any absences due to employment as a Retained Fire-fighter.

Last updated: 25 August 2009 - Amendment No 09-027

Civil servants who are experiencing difficulties either at work or in their personal life, may wish to contact one of the Welfare Officers.

Wherever possible, this should be arranged in the civil servant’s own time.

However, if this is not possible, Accounting Officer’s should treat an application for special leave with pay to attend the Welfare Officer sympathetically.

Last updated 08 March 2019 – Amendment No. 15-075

Time off for Off Island Medical Appointments should be treated as paid special leave and should not be recorded as sick leave, unless the civil servant is already on sick leave in which case the sick leave provisions will continue to apply. The OHR6 Application for Special Leave Form should be used for this purpose.

This provision does not apply to time off requested in respect of Elective Surgery, which is covered in F38 – Applying for Special Leave above.

Periods of special leave with pay may be granted up to a maximum of 10 days in any period of 12 months. Any application for additional time off which exceeds 10 days in any 12 month period should be sent to the Public Services Commission together with the views of the Accounting Officer.

The Commission, taking into account any such views, will decide whether the application should be approved.

Last updated: 28 February 2012 - Amendment No. 11-014