ON THE 3RD DAY OF CHRISTMAS…

On the 3rd day of Christmas, my employee said to me… “I need to leave early tonight to go and watch my child’s nativity play.”

The following factors should be considered by an employer before deciding whether to refuse a request to allow an employee to leave work early to witness their child’s BAFTA performance:

• The employee has no automatic right to leave early in these circumstances unless the contract of employment provides for this; and special care and attention should be given to those contracts which include flexi-time or time off in lieu arrangements. Otherwise, the employee is likely to have to rely on the employer’s goodwill, a special leave policy or take annual leave, with the latter being the most likely option.

• Employees have a statutory right to annual leave and may ask to take the leave as holiday.

• If an employer operates a “leave policy” (in the contract of employment or staff handbook) requests not made in accordance with the policy can be more readily rejected. For last minute leave requests, the most obvious reason for rejecting it is that the employee has given insufficient notice.

• If the request is rejected, it is prudent for a number of reasons and not least from a staff morale perspective, to provide the employee with an explanation.

• Employees may take sick leave if the request is refused. Therefore an essential tool in managing this scenario is a publicised absence management procedure, which includes reporting requirements and back to work interviews.

The employer may however exercise their discretion and agree to the request. In this instance an employer should be mindful that all such similar requests should be dealt with fairly, consistently and in a non-discriminatory way. It is also advisable that, by exercising a discretion, it is made clear to the employee that it is not intended to create any future rights. The employee should also be notified and agreement obtained if one of the following is proposed:

1. the leave is to be unpaid;
2. the annual leave entitlement is to be adjusted to reflect the time taken; or
3. the time will need to be made up.

Contact Details

For more details about the issues in this article please contact:

fgmedia@fgsolicitors.co.uk

+44 (0) 808 172 93 22

This update is for general guidance only and does not constitute definitive advice.