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Browse frequently asked questions and answers on key HR issues. Navigate by topic or key word search. View latest additions or suggest a question to the XpertHR editorial team.
Do employees have the right to take time off work? Under what circumstances are employees allowed time off work? Does a fellow worker have the right to time off to act as a companion at a disciplinary or grievance hearing?
Under s.52 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, an employee who is under notice of dismissal by redundancy has the right to take reasonable paid time off during working hours to look for new employment or make arrangements for training for future employment. To exercise this right the employee must have two years' continuous service by the expiry of the notice period. What is "reasonable" will depend on the individual circumstances of the case and relevant factors may include how difficult finding new employment is likely to be, the distance that the employee may have to travel in order to do so, and the needs of the employer.
An employee may bring a complaint to a tribunal that time off has been refused unreasonably. If the complaint is upheld the employee will be entitled to a payment equal to the amount that he or she would have received had the time off been permitted, subject to a limit of 40% of one week's pay.
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