Pre-retirement leave
03 Jan 2014
From 1 January 2014, employees who are retiring at age 55 or over may be eligible for pre-retirement leave.
This is intended to support staff in making the transition from work to retirement, therefore it is only available to staff who confirm in writing that they are retiring.
It is not available to any member of staff who is:
- going to draw their pension and return to a different role in the University;
- taking flexible retirement (i.e. drawing some earned pension whilst continuing to work for the University).
Allowance and eligibility
The maximum amount of pre-retirement leave will be six days. This is based on one day for each two years of continuous service (at the retirement date) up to a maximum of 6 days.
However, this will be earned at the rate of one day for each complete month of notice given in writing (pro rata for part-time staff).
Therefore to be given the maximum six days, an employee must have at least 12 years continuous service and will need to give six months written notice.
Pre-retirement leave is intended to be taken as it is earned, therefore it:
- cannot be taken in one block
- cannot be used to bring forward the date of retirement
- cannot be exchanged for payment (i.e. will not be paid in lieu if it has not been taken before the leaving date)
To apply for pre-retirement leave employees must complete an application form and submit this with their written notice to their line manager. The line manager will forward this to HR Services. Once approved, all requests to take pre-retirement leave must be agreed with the line manager.
Implementation date
This will apply to employees who give in their notice from the implementation date of 1 January 2014. It will not be backdated or applied retrospectively for any reason to employees who have given in their notice prior to 1 January 2014.
Further support for retirement
In addition, staff retiring at age 55 or over may take up to a maximum of two days to:
- Attend the pre-retirement workshops provided by the University (unless they have previously attended a similar course within two years of the retirement date)
- Attend appointments with the University Pensions Office
These two days can only be used for these purposes and cannot be taken as leave. All other appointments, courses, workshops, etc, in preparation for retirement must be taken out of any pre-retirement leave allowance (i.e. the maximum six days above) or from the member of staff’s normal annual leave entitlement.
Further information
You can find guidance about retirement at: