TIME OFF FOR DEPENDANTS

Employees have a statutory right to take reasonable time off work to deal with emergency situations concerning a dependant without pay. An employee may take a reasonable time off work to help when a dependant gives birth or falls ill; to make arrangements for the care of a sick dependant; to deal with the death of a dependant; to cope when care arrangements are disrupted or to deal with an unexpected incident involving a dependent child at school.

A dependant person can be the employee’s husband/wife/partner, child or parent and also includes someone who reasonably relies upon the employee for assistance when they are ill or have been injured or assaulted or to make arrangements for the provision of care in the event of illness or injury.

The amount of time an employee can take will depend on the circumstances in each case but in most cases one or two days should be sufficient to deal with the emergency. In any event, the employee should, as far as possible, agree with their Manager how long they will be away from work.

There may be exceptional circumstances where the Manager is beyond reach in which case the Human Resources Department at Head Office should be informed. In such an event, the employee must still inform the Manager of the reason for their absence as soon as possible. A company absence statement must be completed.

Employees should note that there is no statutory right to be paid under this policy. Any payment for time off work under this policy will be at the absolute discretion of the Director.