Table of Contents
In Short
- Employees are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave per year, which may include public holidays.
- They have the right to take time off for illness, with statutory sick pay applicable under certain conditions.
- Employees can also take unpaid leave to care for dependents in emergencies.
Tips for Businesses
Develop clear policies outlining procedures for requesting leave, including notice periods and documentation requirements. Ensure these policies comply with legal obligations and are communicated effectively to all staff. Regularly review and update your policies to reflect any changes in employment law.
Your staff have certain rights to take time off work in the course of their employment with you. The most obvious examples are their right to annual leave, which is their holiday entitlement. Likewise, where an employee is ill, they can take time off in certain circumstances.. There are other instances where your employees are allowed time away from their job — some of which may be paid leave and some which may be unpaid. It is essential that you are aware of these rights, as failure to recognise them can lead to an employment tribunal claim. This article will give an overview of these rights.
Holiday Entitlement
Your workers are usually entitled to holiday time away from work, also called statutory or annual leave. This is not only a legal right for your employees but also for a range of workers such as:
- agency workers;
- those working regular hours; and
- zero-hours contract workers.
The minimum entitlement to holiday leave is 5.6 weeks per year which is 28 days, and you must pay for this leave. This entitlement applies to full-time workers who work five days a week. So if your workers work more than this, they have no legal entitlement to take more annual leave. The 28 days are pro-rated for your part-time workers, and for those who work irregular hours, you must calculate their annual leave entitlement based on each hour they work.
As an employer, you do have some discretion about annual leave, such as determining:
- if employees are allowed to take bank holidays;
- when employees cannot take their holiday; and
- mandating when employees must take their holiday.
Time Off for Ill Health
If a member of your staff is unwell, they may be entitled to time off from work, depending on how serious the illness is. There are rules associated with the length of an absence, such as a fit note or self-certifying time off for illness. It is best practice to have a sickness absence or absence from work policy that details this.
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Time Off for Parents
Employees expecting or with children have certain rights to take time off work. In some cases, these rights apply regardless of an employee’s gender or the nature of their relationship with their partner, such as same-sex couples. These rights are generally referred to as parental leave rights.
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Maternity leave |
All your staff are entitled to maternity leave when they are expecting or have given birth to a baby. The legal entitlement is 52 weeks, of which 26 weeks are Ordinary Maternity Leave and 26 weeks Additional Maternity Leave. |
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Paternity leave |
When your employee’s partner is having a baby, whether naturally, through surrogacy or adoption, they may be entitled to paternity leave, and the entitlement may be for one week or two weeks depending on the circumstances. |
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Adoption leave |
When your employee is adopting a child, either they or their partner can take adoption leave which is 52 weeks of leave, 26 of which are Ordinary Adoption Leave and 26 of which are Additional Adoption Leave. |
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Unpaid parental leave |
Where your employees qualify for it, they are entitled to 18 weeks of unpaid parental leave. They must take it in at least a block of one week and not take more than four weeks in a given year. |
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Parental bereavement leave |
Where employees have lost a child, they are entitled to two weeks’ bereavement leave. Where you have employed them for at least 26 weeks, you must pay them. |
Time Off to Help a Dependant
If an employee does not anticipate something that happens to one of their dependents, they are legally entitled to time off from work to help them deal with this, such as, where:
- your employee’s child falls ill whilst at school;
- their dependent dies; or
- their dependent is injured.
A dependant is someone who relies on your employee, such as their:
- partner, civil partner or spouse;
- child;
- parent;
- household members, but not their tenants, lodgers or employees;
- elderly neighbour when facing an accident, illness or injury or to anyone else relying on them in the same fashion; or
- friends, family members or anyone else who needs them to make care arrangements.
There is no legal minimum amount of time off you may give your employee. Instead, the law says it must be reasonable time off to deal with the situation. You do not have to pay your worker for the time taken off but can choose to do so if you wish, and your decision on this issue should be in your workers’ contracts or your policy on time away from work.
The law does not always obligate you to approve employee requests for time off. However, it is good practice to allow your staff time away from work to deal with these situations.
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Other Time Off From Work
There are also other circumstances when you must allow your employee time off.
These are detailed below.
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Public duties |
If your employees hold public positions in addition to their employment with you, they may have a right to reasonable time off from work to allow them to conduct these duties. Examples of public duties include:
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Court service |
You must allow your employees time off work to attend court, which could be as a juror or witness; otherwise, a court could hold you in contempt of court. You do not have to pay them for this time off work. |
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Trade union duties |
If your employee is a trade union official from a recognised trade union or a union learning representative, they have a legal right to paid time off to carry out their duties. The amount they are entitled to depends on the circumstances, and you only have to give as much leave as is reasonable. If your employee is a union member of a recognised trade union, they have a legal right to reasonable unpaid time away from work to participate in union activities. |
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Military duty |
If your employee is a member of the reserve services and has to train or is called up for service, you must allow them that time off work. |
Key Takeaways
There are varying circumstances when you, as an employer, must allow your staff time away from work. For example, you are legally obliged to let your staff have reasonable time off work to deal with an unexpected event concerning a dependent, although you do not need to pay them for this. You are also required to allow your staff time off work for public duties such as attending school governing meetings.
If you need help understanding situations which legally require you to provide time off from work in England, our experienced employment lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents for a low monthly fee. Call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
As an employer, there are certain things you must allow out employee time off for in England, such as, for example, at least 28 paid holidays.
As an employer, you have some discretion over employees exercising their rights to take time off work. For example, you can have a policy of not allowing staff off during certain periods of the year.
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