Time Off For Dependents

For a number of years now, all employees have been entitled to take unpaid “reasonable” time off work in order to deal with unexpected emergencies affecting their dependents. But who is a dependent, what is “reasonable” time off and how does an employer deal with an epidemic like the Novovirus?

A dependent is a spouse, civil partner, child, parent or person living in the same household who is not a tenant or lodger. Sometimes it can also include someone who reasonably relies on the employee for assistance. The definition of a dependent is potentially very wide.

What “reasonable” time off means is also a minefield for employees and employers alike. Unfortunately, when drafting the law, the Government did not decide on a maximum period of time which an employee is entitled to take off, leaving it to employers and ultimately Employment Tribunals to decide what is “reasonable” in the individual circumstances.

When deciding what is reasonable, you should look why the employee needs the time off, the closeness of the relationship between the employee and the dependent and the extent to which another person is available to assist.

However, employers will be disappointed to learn that the disruption or inconvenience caused to the employer’s business is not a relevant consideration.

Turning now to the Norovirus sweeping through schools and workplaces across the country, how should an employer deal with the situation?

Firstly, it is important that the employer adopts a consistent approach to all employees. If employees are usually allowed to take time off when their dependents are unwell, then new requests cannot reasonably be refused, even if it does result in a workforce operating on skeleton staff.

What an employer should do is ensure that people are not abusing their right to time off. It is common knowledge in the media that, once the symptoms have ceased, sufferers of the virus should remain isolated for a further 48 hours. Therefore, an employer is looking at a ‘worse case scenario’ of an employee being absent for a week. Anything longer than a week should begin to ring alarm bells.

Finally, remember that although employees are entitled to time off to care for their dependents, the time off is unpaid. 

For more information or advice, please email nicola.jackson@foot-ansteys.co.uk

Published 23/01/2008.