MAKE YOUR FREE Time Off for Dependants Policy

TIME OFF FOR DEPENDANTS POLICY

Statement and Purpose of Policy

1.  (the Employer, we, our or us) is committed to, when appropriate, helping our Employees to support their dependants in the event of an emergency. We recognise that this may sometimes involve supporting Employees to take time off work to help their dependants. 
2. This Policy sets out Employees’ entitlements to time off to help dependants in the event of an emergency and explains the procedures for requesting this time off.
3. The Employer may amend this Policy at any time in its absolute discretion.

Application and Definitions

1. This Policy applies to employees including:
   1. Agency workers.
   2. Interns.
   3. Casual workers.
2. For the purposes of this Policy, a ‘dependant’ is anybody who is the relevant Employee’s:
   1. Spouse or civil partner;
   2. Child;
   3. Parent;
   4. Somebody who lives in the same household as the Employee, excluding tenants, lodgers, boarders, or people employed by the Employee;
   5. Somebody else who reasonably relies on the Employee for assistance or to make arrangements if they become ill, give birth, or are injured or assaulted. This applies only when the relevant emergency involves one of these situations (ie when the dependant is ill, giving birth, injured or assaulted). Dependants in this category could include, for example, an elderly neighbour or a relative who doesn’t live with the Employee; or
   6. Somebody else who relies on the Employee to make care arrangements for them. This only applies when the relevant emergency involves an unexpected interruption to this person’s care arrangements. Dependants in this category could include, for example, an elderly neighbour or a relative with a disability.
3. For the purposes of this Policy, an ‘emergency’ is:
   1. Any situation which reasonably requires the Employee to:
      1. Assist or arrange care for a dependant who has become ill (including psychological illness). This includes situations where the dependant has an existing medical condition which has gotten worse;
      2. Assist or arrange care for a dependant who has become injured (including psychological injury). This includes situations where the dependant has an existing injury which has gotten worse;

      3. Assist or arrange care for a dependant who has been assaulted. This includes situations where the dependant has not been physically injured during the assault;

      4. Assist a dependant who is unexpectedly giving birth (eg if they have gone into labour early);
      5. Deal with the death of a dependant;
      6. Deal with an unexpected interruption to a dependant’s care arrangements (eg a child or elderly relative); or
      7. Deal with an unexpected incident involving their dependant child, which has occured during school hours (ie when a school or other educational establishment is responsible for them). This could include, for example, the Employee’s child being suspended or being injured whilst on a school trip.
   2. An emergency need not have occurred suddenly. For example, if an Employee knew that their dependant’s care arrangements were going to be interrupted in a week and they attempted but failed to make alternative arrangements within this week, it may still be necessary for the Employee to take time off at the end of this week to make arrangements and so this could constitute an emergency.

Entitlement to Time Off for Dependants 

1. Employees are entitled to take a reasonable amount of time off work when it is necessary to enable them to take action to assist a dependant with an unexpected or sudden emergency.
   1. When deciding whether it is ‘necessary’ for an Employee to time off for dependants, the Employer and Employee must consider:
      1. The nature of the incident;
      2. The relationship between the Employee and the dependent (ie how close they are); and
      3. Whether, and to what extent, anybody else is available to assist.
2. The entitlement to time off for dependants is limited to:
   1. When dealing with a general emergency:
      1. Providing necessary immediate assistance (eg picking up a child from school or going to a hospital to support an injured spouse).
      2. Making arrangements for the dependant’s care beyond the period of immediate assistance. It does not include the Employee’s providing this longer-term assistance themselves (eg it covers arranging a carer; it does not cover becoming a long-term carer).
   2. When dealing with the death of a dependant: 
      1. Dealing with specific aspects of the death such as arranging a funeral and informing family members.
      2. It does not include taking longer bereavement leave. Parental bereavement leave may be available (see the section below entitled ‘Time off for dependants and parental bereavement leave and pay’).
3. The amount of time that Employees are entitled to take off work to deal with an emergency is limited to the amount of time which is ‘reasonable’ for allowing them to take action to deal with the emergency. The reasonable amount of time depends on factors including the nature of the emergency and the Employee’s individual circumstances (eg their relationship with the dependant).
   1. When deciding what is reasonable, the Employer may consider the frequency and length of any time taken off work for similar emergencies. Employees are not automatically entitled to an unlimited amount of time off if qualifying emergencies occur regularly.
   2. Consideration will not be given to the effect of the Employee’s absence on the Employer’s business.

Pay During Time Off for Dependants

Time Off for Dependants and Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay

1. Employees who take time off for dependants may also be entitled to statutory parental bereavement leave and pay. 
2. Information on eligibility and statutory entitlements for parental bereavement leave can be obtained by request from the HR department or Employees’ line managers.
3. An Employee whose child passes away may also be entitled to take parental (eg maternity or adoption) leave that they have organised or already begun in relation to that child. Rules differ depending on the relevant type of parental leave, but they will not exclude Employees from also taking parental bereavement leave.
4. If an Employee is eligible for time off for dependants and for parental bereavement leave, they may take both types of leave. Even where an Employee is eligible for contractual time off for dependants pay, they will not be able to claim contractual time off for dependants pay if they also receive parental bereavement pay.

Time Off for Dependants and Other Types of Leave

1. Employees who take time off for dependants may also be able to take compassionate leave, if it is negotiated with the Employer, in its absolute discretion.
2. Where Employees are to be paid during compassionate leave, they will not also be able to claim any contractual time off for dependants pay that they are eligible for.
3. Employees may also be eligible for statutory unpaid parental leave of up to 18 weeks per child, with a maximum of 4 weeks taken per year, taken in line with the statutory eligibility criteria and entitlements. Taking unpaid parental leave does not affect an Employee’s entitlement to time off for dependants or vice versa.
4. Where Employees are to be paid during parental leave (ie contractually agreed pay for statutory unpaid parental leave), they will not also be able to claim any contractual time off for dependants pay that they are eligible for.
5. If taking time off for dependants is not permitted (eg the event an Employee wishes to respond to does not qualify as an ‘emergency’ as outlined above), or if an Employee wants to take an extended amount of time off (eg to care for an ill relative themselves rather than just to make arrangements for care), Employees should consider taking other kinds of leave that they may be entitled to. For example, annual leave may be taken, according to the entitlements and procedures set out in Employees’ individual employment contracts.

Requesting Time Off for Dependants

1. If an employee needs to take time off for a dependant, and the situation meets the criteria for such (as outlined above), they should follow the ‘notification requirements’, which require that they:
   1. Inform the Employer as soon as reasonably practicable of their need to take time off for a dependant; and
   2. Inform the Employer, wherever possible, of how long they expect to be absent.
2. It may, in some circumstances, not be reasonably practicable for the Employee to inform the Employer that they need to take time off for a dependant before leaving work (eg in the event of a time-sensitive medical emergency affecting the dependant). In such circumstances, this is acceptable and will not alter the Employee’s rights as described in this Policy. The Employee should let the Employer know of the situation, and how long they expect to be off work, as soon as practicably possible. Where not practical, this does not need to be communicated in writing, and written proof doesn’t need to be given at this initial stage.
3. If the circumstances of an Employee’s time off for dependants change (eg they need to take more time off then initially expected and communicated), or if a new emergency arises which the Employee needs to take time of for whilst they are already taking time off for another emergency, this new information should be communicated to the Employer as soon as possible.
4. When communicating with the Employer about the reasons for taking time off for dependants, Employees should discuss with their line manager (or the HR team) whether their colleagues should be told the reason for the Employee’s absence. Employees will always be treated with respect and, where appropriate, discretion will be used when communicating with the Employee’s colleagues regarding such matters.
5. The Employer may, where reasonable and appropriate, ask the Employee to provide evidence of the reason for absence at a later date. However, this will not be done in a way that discriminates, and the Employee’s failure to comply will not affect their statutory rights to time off for dependants.
6. If the Employer intends to refuse an Employee’s request for time off for dependants (ie because they do not agree with the Employee that the situation meets the requirements for the statutory right to time off for dependants, as set out in this Policy), they will inform the Employee of this. If the Employee disagrees with the refusal, they should appeal the decision by discussing it with the Employer.

Abuses of This Policy

1. If the Employer believes that an Employee:
   1. Has abused the provisions contained in this Policy (eg they are lying about dealing with an emergency involving a dependant); or
   2. Has failed to comply with the notification requirements set out in this Policy;
   The Employer may commence disciplinary proceedings against the Employee.

Rights Whilst Taking Time Off for Dependants

1. The Employer is committed to ensuring that Employees are not subject to any detriment due to their requesting and taking time off for dependants. This includes, but is not limited to:
   1. Not unfairly refusing to allow Employees to take time off for dependants when it is requested.
   2. Not dismissing Employees or selecting them for redundancy because they asked for and/or took time off for dependants.
   3. Not denying Employees access to benefits (eg training or promotions) because they asked for and/or took time off for dependants.
2. Employees will always, including when requesting or taking time off for dependants, be treated fairly and in accordance with equal opportunities and anti-discrimination laws.

Review and Further Information

1. This Time Off for Dependants Policy and the practices and procedures that it outlines will be regularly reviewed by the Employer, to ensure that all of the Employer’s obligations under employment laws are met.
2. Employees can obtain access to a copy of any of the other employment policies referred to within this Time Off for Dependants Policy by contacting the HR department and/or their line manager.

Attribution

1. This Time Off for Dependants Policy was created using a document from Rocket Lawyer (https://www.rocketlawyer.com/gb/en).