LEAVE POLICY
1. Annual Leave
Employees will be entitled to annual leave and leave allowance after completing their six (6) months probationary period successfully.
Annual Leave Entitlement
Annual leave to all employees is 15 (fifteen) working days, excluding public holidays. Leave days can be taken at different times in the course of the calendar year.
Leave year
Leave must be taken within February and November of the financial year to suit your unit or department’s operational requirement and agreed at least 2 weeks in advance with your Line Manager.
Employees wishing to proceed on annual leave must get their leave application approved in writing by their Line Manager before notifying HR.
Employees who proceed or return late from leave without prior approval from their line manager will face disciplinary action as they will be absent without leave.
Leave Allowance
Leave allowance will be paid through the payroll, and on a salary day in August every year.
Leave bookings
Normally the maximum amount of leave days that may be taken at any onetime will depend on the operational requirements of your team / department. All leave requests, changes or cancellations should be made on the
appropriate leave form and sent to your Line Manager and Human Resources.
Leave Calendar
All employees are expected to provide their leave dates for the year, in the month of January of the new financial year to HR and their Line Manager. Cancellation or changes to these dates are not encouraged unless approved by the Managing Director.
Carry forward of Leave entitlement
Unused Leave days cannot normally be carried forward to the next leave year and therefore should be taken by the end of each leave year or it will be lost.
If as a result of operational requirements you have not used all your leave entitlement, a maximum of 5 days may be carried forward to the next year. All carry forwards must be agreed in writing before the end of the leave year with your Line Manager and authorized by the Managing Director and should be taken in the first three months (January to March) of the following leave year.
However, the inability to proceed on leave in any year will not affect the payment of leave allowance to the affected staff.
Leaving the company
When you leave the company, any unused leave will be paid on a pro-rata basis for complete months worked in the leave year. In cases where you have already exceeded your pro-rata entitlement the over payment will be deducted from your final salary.
Public holidays
Public holidays will be taken on the days they fall and do not count as part of your leave entitlement. If, however you are slated to work on a public holiday due to operational requirements approved by your Line Manager, you will be entitled to
2 x salary (per hourly rate) and transportation allowance.
2. Compassionate leave
Up to a maximum of one week’s (5 working days) paid compassionate leave may be granted in the event of the death or serious illness of a close relative. For this purpose the definition of a close relative is husband / wife / partner /
child / mother / father / brother / sister.
Compassionate Leave may also be granted for death or serious illness of a member of the immediate family; or a domestic disaster such as serious flood, fire or burglary, appearing as witness in court or at an official hearing.
Requests for other compassionate leave will be at the discretion of your manager. Up to two working days may also be granted in the event of the death of a grandparent, parent-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, step parent, step brother or step sister.
3. Unpaid leave
The company will give sympathetic consideration to requests for unpaid leave where there is substantial reason. If you have a particular need you should raise this in the first instance with your manager. Unpaid leave will not normally be given, when required for a holiday, when holiday entitlement has already been fully utilized. Examples of circumstances for unpaid leave include prolonged sickness of self or close family member (as defined above), family emergencies, home relocation
Pay will cease on the first day of this leave, but such employees will continue to be covered by all benefits (such as pension, medical insurance etc.) during the period of unpaid leave.
All unpaid leave requests must be applied for and approved by the Line Manager and HR.
4. Exam leave
Exam leave shall be granted for a maximum period of 2 weeks in a year. The exam dates must fall during the leave period. Concessions shall be given only by Supervisors with HR in copy. Examination Leave will be granted for the following studies:
• Master’s (2nd degree) programme from a recognized tertiary institution
• Professional certification from a recognized professional body
• Any professional course in Pharmaceutical sciences or medical field.
Members of staff wishing to proceed on exam leave are required to submit to HR, a written application 4 weeks before the due date and also evidence of the examination (e.g. Stamped timetable from their institution).
5. Sick Leave
Once you have completed your probationary period successfully and you are confirmed, the company will allow up to 15 working days paid sick leave at the company’s discretion in a calendar year.
Notification of Sickness Absence
Once you know you will be unable to attend work due to illness or injury, you must inform your Line Manager before your start time. You must inform your Line Manager in person unless it is impossible due to the nature of your illness or injury.
Where it is difficult to contact your Line Manager, then you must contact the Human Resources unit.
If your absence lasts for more than one day, you must maintain regular contact with your unit head. When reporting your absence it is important that you inform your Line Manager of the following:
• Reason for absence
• Expected return date if known
• Details of proposed treatment
• Notification of any outstanding work or meetings that need to be covered
If you are absent for more than 2 days, you must provide the company with a medical certificate from your doctor on the 3rd day. Thereafter medical certificates must be produced every 5 days to cover continued absence. Sick leave will be granted to permanent staff up to a maximum of 15 (fifteen) working days in any one period of twelve months on full pay.
Where sickness or injury prevents you from fulfilling your contract of employment, the Company reserves the right to terminate your employment on ill-health grounds.
Sick pay may be withheld, for any of the following reasons:
• Your Line Manager has reason to doubt the validity of your reason for absence
• Your cumulative sickness is over 15 days for any 12-month period
• Your Line Manager is concerned about your conduct whilst on sickness absence.
• Your Line Manager is concerned about your level of sickness.
• Your Line Manager is concerned about your pattern of sickness.
• You do not follow the correct notification and certification procedure.
During Long Term Sickness
For protracted illness resulting in a long absence a confirmed member of staff will, first utilize outstanding annual leave after which sick leave will be taken with:
• Full pay for first 15 days
• Half pay for following one month
• Quarter pay for following one month
• No pay thereafter
Thereafter, management may review the contract of employment. Any unauthorized absence will be treated as a disciplinary matter. Medical Emergencies or HMO exclusions In cases of emergency the employee may seek medical attention from a recognized clinic/hospital in his location as arranged with the Company’s HMO scheme, and the provider selected. Such emergency cases should be in line with the terms agreed by the HMO. For further clarification about details of your HMO plan and benefits, please contact Human Resources for assistance.
Return to Work
On your return to work following absence due to sickness, you must report to your Unit Head / Group Head and the Human Resources unit. Dependent on your sickness absence record your unit head and HR may want to have a chat with you, this may be either formal or informal. When you return to work, please ensure that you complete a sickness absence form, which you should personally hand to your Unit Head/ Group Head for authorization, together with doctor’s certificate(s) if not already submitted and in turn sent to the Human Resources unit.
Any unusual, frequent or prolonged absence not supported by evidence of sickness may lead to disciplinary action being taken against you. The Company reserves the right to require you to undertake a medical examination by a medical practitioner of its choice at any time. The cost of any examination will be met by the Company. Where an employee has not utilized annual and sick leave before being incapacitated and can no longer work for Advantage Health Africa Limited, the
following benefits will be applied on separation:
• One month salary in lieu of notice
• Salary in lieu of leave allowance
• Any other entitlements
6. Maternity Leave
This policy explains the provision for maternity leave and benefits for all expectant mothers in relation to leave and benefits. All female employees qualify for maternity leave.
Time Away
Regardless of how long you have worked for the company, once you give the
relevant notice, you are entitled to 12 weeks maternity leave 6 weeks before and
6 weeks after confinement. You are not allowed to return to work within 6 weeks
following the birth of your child.
Notification
You are required to produce a medical certificate signed by a registered medical
practitioner stating when confinement will take place. You are requested to
notify your Line Manager and HR as soon as you know that you are pregnant for
yours and your babies’ safety, no later than 6 weeks from being issued a
certificate by your medical practitioner.
You must confirm in writing the fact that you are pregnant, the expected week of
childbirth the date you intend to start your maternity leave, and when you will be
returning to work based on the Maternity Leave days as stated by the Company.
The letter must be given to your Line Manager copying HR.
Annual Leave Accrual
You will continue to accrue annual leave whilst on maternity leave. All annual
leave must normally be taken in the year in which it is accrued. Unused leave
entitlement cannot normally be carried forward to subsequent leave years and
therefore should be taken by the end of the year to which it applies or it will be
lost.
You will not be able to carry this forward to the next year and you will lose it.
Payment for accrued leave can only be made on confirmation that you are not
returning to work.
Returning from maternity leave
You should contact the Human Resources team and your Line Manager at least
2 weeks before returning to confirm arrangements.
Nursing Mother
After return from maternity leave, you are allowed to resume one hour later than
the usual resumption time or to close an hour earlier than the usual closing time
every working day for a period of three months.
Antenatal Appointments
You are entitled to take reasonable time off during your normal working hours for
antenatal care. If your appointment falls on a day on which you normally work,
you will normally be expected to attend work on that day. Therefore, where
possible you should arrange your appointments at the start or end of your working
day. Where this is not possible you should discuss this with your Line Manager at
least 5 working days in advance of your appointment and your manager will
advise you of the time off that will be given.
7. Paternity Leave
If you are a new father, and you have completed your 6 months probationary
period successfully, you will be allowed to take a maximum of 5 working days paid
paternity leave, within three months of the birth of your baby. Applications should
follow the normal procedure for annual leave.
8. Leave Handover
Irrespective of the type of Leave applied for, the Employee must prepare and
submit a Handover Note at least 2 working days before the commencement of
the Leave. Handover notes must contain the job duties that are pending for
conclusion, and the name of the employee who will be responsible for the task in
the interim. It is important to note that the handover note must be approved by
the Line Manager.
Applicable Entitlements (salary, leave allowance etc.) may be withheld if a
handover note is not submitted at the appropriate time or not approved by the
Line Manager of the employee.