Guidance for annual leave and carrying over into the new financial year

Thank you to everyone for all your hard work this year, especially with the introduction of EpicEPR at ESNEFT. We hope you have managed to take some time off since go-live or you have a break to come.

Rest and downtime away from work is so important for our wellbeing. Please make sure any remaining annual leave for this financial year is booked as soon as possible.  This leave should be taken before the end of March 2026.    

If this is not possible, we have a 2025/26 leave carry over process. This means, in exceptional circumstances (such as planned/unplanned statutory leave), you can carry over up to a week's worth of contracted hours into the next financial year's allocation (subject to approval).

Any colleagues who feel they meet these criteria must submit a request to their line manager by 31 January 2026. Line managers will then seek divisional approval via a carry over of leave request form. These forms will be shared with managers by HR business partners.

This year it will not be possible for colleagues to be paid (up to a week’s worth of contracted hours) for annual leave not taken.

The annual leave carry over arrangements apply to all colleagues. Non-medical and medical team members can all use the process outlined in the Annual Leave Toolkit: esneft.sharepoint.com/sites/ESN-Intranet-HowToGuides/Shared Documents/Forms/AllItems.aspx?id=%2Fsites%2FESN-Intranet-HowToGuides%2FShared Documents%2FHR Templates and Toolkits%2FAnnual Leave and Special Leave templates and toolkits%2FAnnual leave and General Public holiday entitlement - non medical staff - Toolkit%2Epdf&parent=%2Fsites%2FESN-Intranet-HowToGuides%2FShared Documents%2FHR Templates and Toolkits%2FAnnual Leave and Special Leave templates and toolkits

As an alternative, you may be able to use the extended holiday scheme. This enables you to 'bank' a maximum of five days every year so you can take up to 25 days' annual leave in one go in the future, in agreement with your manager. The process for applying for this leave is outlined in the Annual Leave Toolkit (at above link) from p7.   The extended holiday scheme is available for all our medical and dental staff too.  

Please note, a consultant's leave year runs from their start date at the Trust.  Consultant colleagues can check with their department if they are unsure when their leave runs from and to each year.

Our team of HR business partners will be closely supporting divisions on all annual leave carry over arrangements. This will include guidance on maternity leave and long-term sickness.

It is important that if colleagues ask, or are asked, to re-arrange leave that it's re-booked before 1 April 2026.