This guide provides a brief overview of Circular 08/2023, Annual Leave in the Civil Service.

How is my annual leave calculated?

Annual leave consists of two different parts: Statutory and non-statutory leave.

Statutory leave is the leave that you are entitled to by law. This equates to 20 days for a full-time worker per annum.

Non-statutory leave is the additional leave that unions have negotiated over the years that is added on to your statutory leave. This means that, for example, an executive officer (EO) with a leave allowance of 26 days has, in effect, a statutory allowance of 20 days plus a non-statutory allowance of six days. 

How much leave am I entitled to?

Annual leave applying to all officers appointed/promoted to their current grade on or after 14 December 2011:

•    Members should note that many grades see an increase in annual leave depending on length of service. It is always advisable to check your HR record when you are due a leave increase to make sure that it was added to your allowance as there have been instances of this not being done automatically.

Carry over of leave

The new arrangements for carry over of untaken leave are as follows:

All non-statutory leave can be carried over and used up within the next year’s annual leave cycle.

Statutory leave is different. The Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 states that all statutory leave must be used up within the annual leave year. In exceptional circumstances, a facility has been arranged to allow an officer who could not avail of their statutory leave allowance due to business reasons to carry it forward and use it within the first 6 months of the following leave year. 

If leave is carried forward into a new year, the sequence in which it must be taken is:
1.    Statutory leave from previous year
2.    Non-statutory leave from previous year
3.    Statutory leave from current year
4.    Non-statutory leave from current year

Does the annual leave circular refer to time off in lieu worked up as overtime?

No. This leave is separate to annual leave. 

Do I continue to accrue annual leave when I’m on sick leave?

When you are on sick leave for full or half pay, normal annual leave continues to accrue. However, if you move onto the Temporary Rehabilitation Remuneration (TRR) rate of sick pay, non-statutory sick leave does not accrue. 

Can I be paid for untaken leave?

No. However, in a circumstance where a person’s employment comes to an end and they have untaken leave, payment may be made by them employer for the untaken leave. 

What is ‘anticipated’ annual leave?

A new facility has been negotiated to allow people to ‘borrow’ or ‘anticipate’ up to two days of their next year’s allowance in circumstances where they have no leave left but an unforeseen event requiring leave arises. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. 

If I am promoted within the civil service, do I retain my leave?

Generally, there is a commitment to making sure nobody ends up with less leave. The arrangements for this are outlined in Part 9 of the circular. However, this is subject to the overall maximum not being breached. 

When does my leave year begin?

There are three different leave years in the civil service. For some, it will start in January. For others, it is February or April. Details of your leave year will be available on your record. 

Can I carry leave over for three years?

No. This is no longer in force. However, there is a transitional arrangement in place depending on whether or not you were in year one, two or three of your cycle when the new circular came into force on Jan 1st 2024. If you were in year three at that date, you have no carry over. If you were in year one or two, you will be allowed to carry over old non-statutory leave once more. This will be allowed when your leave year beginning in 2024 starts. After that, it will revert to the new one year carry over system. 

Issues with the most recent annual leave carry-over circular were raised at a number of AGMs. The Civil Service Divisional Executive Committee (CSDEC) has established a task group to review those issues.

Full details can be found in the circular, available here.

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