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Time off for dependants

Background

Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, all employees, regardless of their length of service, are entitled reasonable time off, unpaid, to deal with emergencies involving a dependant. The purpose of the time off is to deal with the particular emergency. This guide deals with the statutory right to time off for dependants but many contracts of employment may provide employees with more generous entitlements to time off (paid or unpaid) in similar circumstances.

Circumstances when time off may be taken

The employee may take time off in the following circumstances:

  1. To provide assistance to a dependant who has fallen ill, given birth, been injured or assaulted.
  2. To make arrangements for the care of a dependant who is ill or injured.
  3. Due to the death of a dependant.
  4. To deal with the unexpected disruption, termination or breakdown of the arrangements for a dependant’s care.
  5. To deal with an unexpected incident involving the employee’s child at a time when an educational establishment has responsibility for that child.

As the aim of this piece of legislation is to deal with emergencies, it does not apply to planned appointments. An employee would need to make arrangements with his employer for leave in those circumstances.

The right to time off for dependants is a right to “reasonable” time off to deal with the particular emergency. It does not entitle an employee to have time off for care for the dependant until the dependant returns to health but rather, to make arrangements for someone to care for the dependant. In the case of the death of a dependant, the time off would be to deal with the practical issues arising from the death and is not a right to time off on compassionate grounds. (The employee may have a separate right however in their contract allowing them a period of compassionate leave.) There is no specified limit on the amount of time that an employee may take off, what amounts to reasonable time off will vary depending on each employee’s particular circumstances.

The definition of a dependant

The following come within the definition of dependant:

  • The employee’s spouse, civil partner, children or parents.
  • Any person who lives in the same household as the employee except for lodgers, tenants, boarders or the employee’s own employee.
  • Where the time off is to deal with the first two circumstances of leave (i.e. illness or injury), anyone who reasonable relies on the employee for help in such circumstances (this may include a neighbour, elderly aunt etc).
  • Where the time off is to deal with an unexpected breakdown in care arrangements, anyone who reasonably relies on the employee to make arrangements for the provision of care.

Absence reporting

For the time off to qualify as time off for dependants, the employee must tell the employer the reason for the time off and how long they believe they will be away. This should be notified to the employer as soon as possible. In some circumstances this might not be possible before taking the time off, in which case the employee must notify the employee as soon as reasonably practicable, which may be on the employee’s return to work. The employee must notify the employer if they will be absent longer than originally notified and indicate when they are likely to be return.

There is no need for any of the notifications to be in writing nor is the employee required to provide evidence supporting their need to take time off, although there is nothing preventing an employer asking for such information provided it is reasonable for the employer to do so and the employer acts consistently to avoid any claims for discrimination.