Comprehensive Guide to Employee Leave Policies and Procedures

1. Personnel Matters Mrs. Stephanie Charles-Soverall Principal Personnel Officer Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation

2. Introductions • Greetings • Your Expectations • My Objectives

3. Objectives of this Session • By the end of this presentation, you should be able to: • 1) Distinguish the various types of Leave ; • 2) Explain the process of Retirement; and

4. Objectives of this Session con’d • 3) Using an example, calculate or make an estimate of a pension.

5. GRANT OF LEAVE • General Orders Chapter 5, paragraph 5.3 states: • “The authority to grant leave to individual officer, unless otherwise stated herein, shall be vested in the Chief Personnel Officer.”

6. Study leave – FEATURES • 1) The officer initiates the process; • 2) Application form must be complete – • a)acceptance letter; • b) course details; • c)comments from the Principal; • d) information in respect of whether there is a need for a substitute; and • e) availability of finance ;

7. STUDY LEAVE CON’D • 3) Application to be submitted by BOM; • Deadlines from Training Administration Division; and • Training Administration Division is agency to deal with study leave

8. STUDY LEAVE – CON’D • 6) Appointed Officer or temporary officer with 5 years’ service or more; • 7) Study leave is granted on full pay or half pay or no pay or sometimes, not approved.

9. TRAINING LEAVE - Features • 1) Training is identified and financed by the Ministry or the School (i.e., the officer is selected or nominated); • 2) Funds need to be included in the Ministry and the school’s budgetary allocation for the particular financial year;

10. TRAINING LEAVE CON’D • 3) All training and development initiatives to be included with their estimated costs to Training Administration Division (TAD) by September 30 of each year; and • 4) TAD is sole authority for processing training leave for public officers.

11. TRAINING LEAVE CON’D • 5) Relevant to the School, the Public Service or the country; • 6) Training Leave is granted with pay. • 7) Some scholarships come with full pay as a term and condition of the award.

12. SPECIAL LEAVE - CONDITIONS • General Orders 5.27 - • Special leave is granted to enable participation in: • Organisations such as the Boys’ Scouts, and similar organisations; • To represent Barbados or the West Indies in regional or international sporting events;

13. SPECIAL LEAVE CON’D • To enable attendance at recognised union training courses or conferences; • In other instances as may be considered reasonable by the Chief Personnel Officer

14. JURY Duty • General Orders, 5.39 • An officer or employee who has been granted time off to serve as a juror at the Assizes must report for duty when that officer or employee is not required by the Court to serve.

15. JURY DUTY CON’D • Employers who write the Registrar of the Supreme Court to request that their employees be excused from Jury Duty mustsubmit a signed letter from their employee indicating that they wish to be excused from Jury Duty. No person shall be excused from Jury Duty without a signed letter. • Source: Saturday Sun Newspaper dated April 19, 2014.

16. NO PAY LEAVE • 1) Is approved by the Chief Personnel Officer - PAD; • Is not to be used for the purpose of study; • Can be granted for varying periods of duration;

17. NO PAY LEAVE CON’D • 4) Must be approved by the Chief Personnel Officer, PAD; and • 5) Periods of no pay do not count towards pensionable service.

18. TERM’S LEAVE • Persons must be this CRITERIA :- • Persons who are applying for the first time; and • 2) Persons who have submitted their applications for retiring awards.

19. SICK LEAVE • Appointed officer - 21 days a calendar year • Temporary - 14 sick days a calendar year

20. Sick leave con’d • The sick leave allowance includes both certified and uncertified leave. • If temporary Teachers exceed the 14 days’ entitlement, the matter is forwarded to Chief Personnel Officer. General Orders, para.,5.17. No-pay leave is usually the result of the consultation. • If permanent Teachers exceed the 21 days’ entitlement, approval has been given to the Permanent Secretary to grant an extension of sick leave for a maximum of 90 days. Beyond this period, approval must be sought from the Chief Personnel Officer

21. Sick leave con’d • Like the public officer, a teacher has to account for each day. • Absence on the first day and the last day of the term has to be covered. • Extended leave – • First year full pay • Next 18 months – half pay • Thereafter – no-pay

22. Sick leave con’d • General Orders, para. 5.16.1 • A medical certificate should state the nature of the officer’s illness and, if possible, the probable period during which the officer will be incapacitated from the performance of his duties.

23. SECONDMENTS • Is processed by PAD. • A maximum of 2 years • Institution is required to pay 25% of your salary in order to preserve your pension rights.

24. SECONDMENTS • Normally granted for persons to work in regional or international agencies or territories.

25. Definition of Retirement • The period of life after retiring from work. • To retire mean to leave one’s job and cease to work, especially because one has reached a particular age. (Concise Oxford Dictionary, 10th Edition).

26. Required Documentation • Birth Certificate • Marriage Certificate • Divorce Absolute • Identification Card – NRN # • Letter of Appointment • Marriage Certificate (females) • Letter of Confirmation

27. Required Documentation con’d • Service Record • Death Certificate ( (where person dies prior to the processing of any retirement benefits) • Affidavit* • Application Form • Option Form (reduced pension and gratuity as opposed to full gratuity)

28. Deadline of Submission • All applications should reach the Personnel Administration Division at least 6 months before the actual date of retirement. • If January 2016, submission in since July 2015 • If April 2016, submission in October 2015.

29. Pension Legislation • Teachers fall under the same principles and arrangements as in the wider Public Service. • The Pensions (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2004 –Cap. 25 - retirement shall be compulsory.

30. COMPULSORY DATES • 66 ½ years - January 01, 2014 to December 31, 2017 (both dates inclusive) • 67 years - January 01, 2018 and thereafter

31. Pension Legislation Con’d • Teachers who were in the service on or before September 01, 1975 will qualify for both the Civil Service Pension and a National Insurance Pension.

32. Ways of Exiting the Service • Retirement • Death • Medical Boards (Medically unfit) • Resignation – stored pension

33. Storage of Pension Benefits • If a permanently appointed officer, including a teacher resigns from the Government Service after serving for 10 or more years, his pension benefits will be stored for him until his optional date of retirement: • 55 years in the case of persons appointed prior to July 15, 1985; • 60 years in the case of persons after July 15, 1985

34. Storage of Pension Benefits con’d • For the officer who resigns with at least 5 years service, a gratuity will be stored until he reaches the optional age of retirement.

35. Minimum Age of Retirement • For Teachers who were appointed on or before July 15, 1985, the minimum age of retirement is 55 years.

36. Compulsory Age of Retirement • Regardless of when you started or how long you have had in the service, your present compulsory age is 66 ½ years. • Exception:- Relief Watchmen - 72 years

37. Formula for Computing Pension • Number of completed months (400 is max) multiply by Annual Pensionable Emoluments (monthly salary x 12) divided by 600 = A • Gratuity is ¼ of A multiply by 12.5 – lump sum payment • Annual Reduced Pension is ¾ of A – monthly payment

38. Computation • No of Completed years (months) x (salary x12) = A • 600 • ¼ of A x 12.5 = Gratuity • ¾ of A = Reduced Pension

39. An Example • 400 months x ($5516.04 x 12) = A • 600 • A = 400 months x $66, 192.48= $44,128.32 • 600 • ¼ of A = $11,032.08 • Gratuity is = $11, 032.08 x 12.5 = $137,901 • Annual reduced pension is ¾ of A = $33,096.24 • i.e. monthly of $2,758.02

40. Things to consider • Pension is calculated on a maximum of 33 and 1/3 years. If you have 44 years’ service, only 331/3 of those years are useful for calculating your pension. • Confirmation that you repaid • your vehicle loan; or • your student revolving loan; or • your training loan from Training Administration Division; or • Any other money that is owed to the Crown.

41. Things to consider con’d • Any amount that is owed to the Crown will be deducted from your gratuity. • Leave without pay is not granted as pensionable service. • Where an officer dies in office, the pension gratuity would be computed using the above-mentioned formula. A comparison would be made with the annual pension emoluments paid to the person. Whichever is greater would be paid to his estate.

42. Question & Answer

43. THE END

44. A grant of 2 days by Principal • Second Schedule of General Order 5.1- page 65 • “In urgent cases, a teacher may be granted leave of absence on full pay for a period of not more than two days in any one school year by the Headteacher (Principal).” • School year means the period beginning on the first day of September in one year and ending on the last day of August in the year next following.

45. Maternity leave • Appointed teachers – • 84 days – paid by NIS • 120 (the other 36 days) – half pay if during the term And full pay if during the vacation period.

46. MATERNITY • Temporary Teachers • 84 days - no pay leave from Ministry - NIS payment • Beyond the 84 days - no pay

47. Medical Assessments • These should be requested if the officer has been continuously absent for a period of 3 months. • General Orders, para., 5.21 states, however, that the officer on sick leave may at any time be required by the Chief Personnel Officer to be examined by a Government Medical Officer or a Medical Board and such officer shall submit to be so examined at such time and place as either body shall appoint.

48. Half Pay leave • Not usually approved for more than 18 months. General Orders, 5.25.5. • There must be a 2-year intervening period . 5.25.3