Leave
The Army Leave Manual 2000 (ALM) defines leave as approved and recorded periods of absence from duty. It states that annual leave is granted "for reasons of relaxation, personal recreation and family union with the intention of keeping [Service personnel] fit for further duty".
Annual Leave
- The annual leave allowance (ALA) for all ranks of the Services is 30 working days, and the leave year runs from 1st April until 31st March.
- You should be able to take your 30 working days’ annual leave, plus Public Holidays, except when the demands of the Service make this impossible.
- This leave is for relaxation, personal recreation and to enable you to see your family.
- Travelling time is granted where appropriate.
- If, due to Service reasons, it is not possible to take your leave, you may ask permission to carry forward a maximum of 15 working days to the new leave year. If it is necessary to postpone or stop leave, or to recall you from leave, you will be given a full explanation.
Re-location Leave
- Relocation leave is granted in addition to annual leave so that soldiers can attend to personal matters before starting a tour of duty, in a different theatre to that in which they previously served.
- Personnel posted within Great Britain or Northern Ireland will receive 1 day’s relocation leave which will automatically be factored into posting notices.
- Relocation leave for all other personnel will be calculated by the appropriate theatre Headquarters on a case by case basis, using the following as a basis:
- On posting between theatres for a normal tour, 10 working days relocation leave may be granted.
- For short tours of between 3 to 6 months, 5 working days temporary relocation leave may be granted.
- Soldiers who are entitled to Post Operational Tour Leave are not entitled to relocation leave and associated travel at public expense in addition.
(Further details are given in the Army Leave Manual, Chapter 2, Section 2.)
Post-operational Tour Leave (POTL)
- POTL is granted to individuals returning from Roulement Operational Tours.
- For an operational tour of 6 months, 20 working days POTL is to be granted.
- POTL for shorter or longer tours is to be granted on a pro-rata basis, ie 1 working day of POTL for every 9 calendar days served.
- POTL is to commence as soon as possible and no later than one month following a soldier’s return from operations.
- POTL is granted in addition to a serviceman’s annual leave allowance.
(Full details are in the Army Leave Manual, Chapter 2, Section 2.)
Re-engagement Leave
- Re-engagement Leave, also known as RENLEAVE or "leave on prolongation of Service", is granted to those soldiers who joined the Army before 31 March 1999 as compensation for the postponement of terminal leave.
- 20 working days RENLEAVE may be granted to eligible soldiers who have committed themselves to 12 years continuous Colour service having completed 11 years continuous Colour service.
- 20 working days RENLEAVE may also be granted to eligible soldiers who have committed themselves to 18 years continuous Colour service having completed 17 years continuous Colour service.
- A soldier who signifies an intention to leave the Colours is no longer eligible for RENLEAVE.
- Not more than one period of RENLEAVE is admissible to soldiers eligible under either qualifying criterion.
- RENLEAVE is to be taken at the earliest convenient opportunity after qualifying for it, either separately or in addition to any other form of leave (except terminal leave) for which the soldier is eligible.
- RENLEAVE is to be taken within the first three years after the soldier has qualified for it, and may be taken in individual periods of not less than 5 working days.
Terminal Leave
- Terminal leave is granted to soldiers prior to termination of regular service to enable them to use their last weeks of service to look for employment and settle their families into civilian life.
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Compassionate Leave
- Compassionate leave is granted to enable personnel to attend to personal domestic problems. It may be granted in the following circumstances:
- On the death, imminent death or very serious illness of a spouse, child, stepchild, parent, stepparent, sibling, stepsibling, guardian or recorded nominated Next Of Kin.
- On the death of a dependant overseas whose body is being repatriated to the UK or the Irish Republic.
- For urgent reasons, of an exceptional or personal nature, when the presence of the individual is considered essential to lessen domestic hardship.
- Travel may be available at public expense
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Maternity Leave
- Maternity leave is a statutory entitlement for all pregnant servicewomen.
- All servicewomen who become pregnant, whether they are leaving the Service or returning to duty after childbirth, are entitled to 18 weeks Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML) before/after the birth of their child.
- There is a mandatory period of two weeks leave immediately following childbirth so, in the event of a late birth OML will be extended, if necessary, to allow the two weeks leave to be taken.
- Those servicewomen who opt to return to duty after the birth of their child are also entitled to a maximum of 30 weeks' Occupational Maternity Absence (OMA) under the Armed Forces' occupational maternity arrangements. This is in addition to the 18 weeks OML but is subject to a requirement to return to work not later than 37 weeks from the beginning of the week of childbirth.
- The rules governing OML, OMA and other maternity arrangements are currently contained in DCI JS 35/00 (issued 02/00).
Paternity Leave
- Paternity leave is a statutory entitlement.
- A total of two weeks leave may be taken on the basic rate of weekly pay, but including Specialist/Additional Pay, within a specified timeframe.
- Fifteen weeks advance warning is required of the intention to take Paternity Leave in a 'natural birth'.
- The advance notice in an adoption case has to be shorter, as the actual date of placement of a child may not be decided until a comparatively late stage.
- A declaration would have to be made by the applicant confirming eligibility, and that the leave would only be used for childcare purposes or to support the mother (or main adopter).
- Commanding Officers still have discretion to defer or rescind Paternity Leave in operational situations.
Those eligible for Paternity Leave would be a person sharing responsibility for the upbringing of a child and who is:
- The biological father; or
- The spouse of the natural mother (or main adopter) who is not the biological father; or
- An individual living with the mother (or main adopter) in an enduring family relationship, but who is not an immediate relative. This category will include both unmarried and same-sex partners.
In an adoption case, either of the adopting parents - not necessarily a male - can elect to take Paternity Leave. The other parent would be entitled to Adoption Leave.
Adoption Leave
The fundamental principles are similar to Maternity Leave. The 'main carer' in an adoption case would be entitled to up to twenty-six weeks paid Ordinary Adoption Leave (pay rate depending on length of service) plus a further twenty-six weeks of unpaid Additional Adoption Leave. This would be equivalent to Ordinary Maternity Leave and Additional Maternity Leave periods. The amount of notice is comparatively short because the placement itself can happen at comparatively short notice.
Parental Leave
- Parental leave, which is unpaid, is a statutory entitlement for the parents of all children born or adopted after 15 Dec 99.
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Domiciled Collective Leave (DOMCOL)
- DOMCOL leave is available to all eligible foreign and Commonwealth personnel, who are registered with MOD for DOMCOL, at the completion point of each 5 years’ service.
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