Leave Procedures & Records
Key Takeaways
- Under PSR Rule 100204, the Head of the Department of Administration/Personnel draws up the Annual Leave Roster, and the Permanent Secretary must approve it not later than 31st December (Rules 100204(a) and (b)).
- An officer spending leave within or outside Nigeria must furnish the Permanent Secretary with a leave address before proceeding on leave (PSR Rule 100207).
- On return from annual leave, every officer must complete and submit a Resumption of Duty Certificate (Form L.10) to the Permanent Secretary, who endorses and forwards it to the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (PSR Rule 100210).
- An officer who desires to spend annual leave abroad must inform the Permanent Secretary before proceeding on vacation and provide details of his or her address (PSR Rule 100206).
- An officer who over-stays leave without acceptable excuse is regarded as absent without leave and without pay (PSR Rule 100240).
- Proportionate leave allowance is based on the number of earned leave days, and officers joining mid-year or retiring within the leave year receive pro-rata entitlement (PSR Rule 100212).
Leave Procedures & Records
Quick Answer: The PSR prescribes a structured leave workflow: the Annual Leave Roster is drawn up by the Head of Administration/Personnel and approved by the Permanent Secretary by 31st December (Rule 100204); officers must furnish a leave address before departing (Rule 100207); and on return, every officer must submit a Resumption of Duty Certificate (Form L.10) routed through the Permanent Secretary to the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (Rule 100210). Over-staying leave triggers deemed absence without pay (Rule 100240).
The Leave Application and Approval Chain
Leave administration in the Nigerian Federal Public Service follows a layered approval chain designed to safeguard service continuity. The chain is anchored by Rule 100204, which splits responsibility between two offices.
Rule 100204 — Annual Leave Roster
- (a) It is the responsibility of the Head of the Department of Administration/Personnel to draw up the Annual Leave Roster for all officers in that Ministry or Extra-Ministerial Office.
- (b) It is the responsibility of every Permanent Secretary or Head of Extra-Ministerial Office to approve the Leave Roster for the coming year not later than 31st December.
The roster is the primary instrument for ensuring that not too many officers in the same unit proceed on leave at the same time, which would hollow out service delivery. The 31st December deadline forces ministries to plan leave rotation a year in advance.
Officer's Application Duties
Once the roster is approved, the officer's procedural duties are:
- Apply for leave in accordance with the approved roster and within the leave year (1st January – 31st December, Rule 100106).
- Furnish a leave address to the Permanent Secretary or Head of Extra-Ministerial Office before proceeding on leave (Rule 100207). This applies whether leave is spent within or outside Nigeria.
- Inform the Permanent Secretary before proceeding abroad if the annual leave is to be spent outside Nigeria, providing details of the address (Rule 100206).
Resumption of Duty Certificate (Form L.10)
On return from annual leave, every officer must complete and submit a Resumption of Duty Certificate (Form L.10) to the Permanent Secretary or Head of Extra-Ministerial Office, who endorses and forwards the form to the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) or to the relevant pool office (Rule 100210). Form L.10 is the documentary proof that the officer has actually resumed duty on the scheduled date; it is the single most important leave record for audit and pension purposes.
Note on forms: The task brief referenced a Form PSR 1007-style application form. The PSR text that is publicly available and verifiable names Form L.10 as the Resumption of Duty Certificate. Candidates should treat Form L.10 as the operative form for resumption; some ministries also use internal leave application forms, but the PSR-cited form is Form L.10.
Leave Roster and Service Continuity
The roster system exists to prevent simultaneous absences that would cripple a department. In practice, ministries rotate leave across the calendar year so that critical functions — accounts, registry, human resources, and frontline service desks — always retain minimum staffing. The Head of Administration/Personnel is expected to consult departmental heads when drawing up the roster, and the approved roster becomes the benchmark against which any ad-hoc leave request is measured.
| Step | Responsible Officer | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Draw up Annual Leave Roster | Head of Department of Administration/Personnel | 100204(a) |
| Approve roster by 31st December | Permanent Secretary / Head of Extra-Ministerial Office | 100204(b) |
| Furnish leave address | Officer proceeding on leave | 100207 |
| Inform before travel abroad | Officer spending leave abroad | 100206 |
| Submit Resumption Certificate | Returning officer (Form L.10) | 100210 |
| Endorse and forward Form L.10 | Permanent Secretary to OHCSF | 100210 |
Leave Record-Keeping
Leave records are maintained at two levels. The departmental level keeps the officer's leave history within the Staff Records Form (Form Gen. 60), capturing dates of departure and resumption, type of leave, and balance forfeited or carried. The central level at the OHCSF or the relevant pool office receives endorsed Form L.10 certificates, which feed into the officer's personnel and pension records.
Accurate record-keeping matters because:
- Leave not taken within the calendar year is forfeited (Rule 100205), so the record must show the date leave was actually taken.
- Proportionate leave allowance is based on earned leave days (Rule 100212), so the record must reflect months served for new entrants and retirees.
- Over-stay without acceptable excuse converts the officer to absent without leave and without pay (Rule 100240), which can trigger disciplinary action.
Leave Allowance
Under Rule 100212, an officer who joins the Federal Public Service during the course of the leave year receives proportionate leave rather than full annual leave, and the proportionate leave allowance is based on the number of earned leave days. Officers who attend courses of instruction or training over a period of six months are entitled to proportionate leave for the period they put in service, and an officer retiring within the leave-earning service year is similarly entitled to proportionate leave.
Hedged note: The PSR text that is publicly available specifies the basis of leave allowance (pro-rata earned days) but does not publish a fixed monetary rate in the Rules themselves. Monetary leave allowances and transport grants are typically set through circulars and salary reviews, and the COMPRO exam tests the pro-rata principle (Rule 100212), not a specific naira figure. Candidates should not memorize a specific allowance amount.
Vacation in Locality and Abroad
Rule 100206 imposes a notification requirement for officers spending annual leave abroad: they must inform the Permanent Secretary before proceeding on vacation and provide details of their address. Rule 100207 extends the leave-address requirement to all officers — whether leave is spent within or outside Nigeria. The rationale is operational reachability: the Service must be able to recall an officer in an emergency and confirm the officer's whereabouts during the leave period.
There is no general PSR prohibition on spending leave in one's locality of duty; the Rules instead focus on disclosure of the leave address and prior notification for foreign travel.
Penalties for Over-Stay
Two rules close the procedural loop with penalties:
- Rule 100240: An officer who over-stays leave without acceptable excuse is regarded as absent without leave and without pay, and the absence may also attract disciplinary action.
- Rule 100241: A dismissed officer is not entitled to any form of leave.
Exam Tip
COMPRO questions on procedures typically test three things: who draws up the roster (Head of Administration/Personnel), who approves it and by when (Permanent Secretary by 31st December), and which form is filed on resumption (Form L.10). Memorize the Rule 100204(a)/(b) split — it is a classic distractor setup, with answer choices that swap the two responsible officers.
Under PSR Rule 100204, who is responsible for drawing up the Annual Leave Roster, and who must approve it by 31st December?
On return from annual leave, which form must an officer complete and submit under PSR Rule 100210, and where is it forwarded?