Allowing time off work

Introduction

Your staff may request time off for a range of reasons, including jury service, union duties, and health issues.

Some of these activities, notably public and trade union duties and parental/dependant responsibilities, carry statutory rights to time off, ie your staff have a legal right to the time off and you can't refuse.

In other situations, you can choose how you handle requests for time off.

This guide looks at the different situations where employees may ask for time off and whether they have a legal right to time off (with or without pay).

It also looks at good practice for dealing with requests for time off where there is no legal right, so your policy and practice as an employer - rather than the law - is the deciding factor.

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• Time off - paid or unpaid
• Job-related time off
• Other work-related reasons for time off
• Statutory time off for parental reasons
• Time off for personal commitments and emergencies
• Time off for public service and duties
• Employees and the armed forces
• Managing your staff's time off