How to book annual leave
- Log in to Employee Self-Service (ESS) using your normal University username and password.
- Select 'Book Holiday'.
- Enter 'Personal Holiday', the duration and the dates.
- You can add notes to provide additional information for your line manager (this is optional).
- Click 'Save' at the bottom of the screen.
- Your line manager will be sent details of your request for annual leave.
- Your line manager will notify you whether the holiday has been authorised or not.
Please refer to our How to Book Annual Leave webpage for a visual guide.
Although the calculations in iTrent are made in hours, you can only make annual leave bookings in days or half days. Any request for less than half a day's leave should be handled outside iTrent and is subject to agreement from your line manager. Your line manager will need to adjust your entitlement in Manager Self-Service (MSS) to rebalance the leave.
Example: An individual's normal working day is 7.3 hours, but they only have 5 hours of remaining holiday. They could agree with their manager to work an additional 2.3 hours and the manager can then adjust the entitlement on MSS by putting in a 2.3 hour adjustment. The holiday can then be booked in the usual way.
Giving notice when requesting annual leave
As a guideline, the notice you give should equal the length of the period of leave you are requesting. You must give your line manager sufficient notice when booking annual leave or it may not be authorised.
Authorisation process
Your line manager will authorise any requests for annual leave via MSS. Approval for annual leave is subject to the operational requirements of your department or service.
In some departments there may be times of the year when annual leave cannot be taken due to the nature of the work undertaken and the service provided.
Academic staff
If you wish to take annual leave during semester and examination time, you will need to request this via ESS. Your Head of Department/Group will need to authorise this request.
If you wish to take annual leave outside of semester and examination time, you will also need to request this via ESS. Authorisation by your Head of Department/Group will not be required.
You may also need to inform your Head of Department and any other identified individual before taking your leave, in line with departmental practice.