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PART II |
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TIME OFF FOR DOMESTIC INCIDENTS |
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PROVISIONS TO BE INSERTED AFTER SECTION 57 OF THE EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS ACT 1996 |
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Domestic incidents |
| Right to time off for domestic incidents. |
57A. - (1) An employee is entitled to be permitted by his employer to take a reasonable amount of time off during the employee's working hours, where it is reasonable for him to do so, in order to deal with a domestic incident.
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(2) In subsection (1) "domestic incident" means an incident which-
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(a) occurs in the home of the employee, or |
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(b) affects a member of the employee's family or a person who relies on the employee for assistance. |
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(3) The Secretary of State may make regulations about the right under subsection (1); and the regulations may, in particular-
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(a) specify factors to be taken into account in determining whether it is reasonable for an employee to take time off; |
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(b) specify circumstances in which it is to be taken to be, or not to be, reasonable for an employee to take time off; |
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(c) specify factors to be taken into account in determining what amount of time it is reasonable for an employee to take off; |
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(d) impose limits, or enable employers to impose limits, on the amount of time which an employee may take off in relation to a particular incident or set of incidents or during a particular period; |
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(e) make provision about notices to be given, evidence to be produced and other procedures to be followed; |
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(f) make provision specifying the consequences of failure to give notices, to produce evidence or to comply with other procedural requirements; |
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(g) make provision specifying the consequences of failure to act in accordance with a notice given by virtue of paragraph (e); |
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(h) make special provision for cases where an employee has a right which corresponds to a right conferred by subsection (1) and which arises under his contract of employment or otherwise; |
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(i) make provision applying, modifying or excluding an enactment, in such circumstances as may be specified and subject to any conditions specified, in relation to a person entitled to time off under this section. |
| Complaint to employment tribunal. |
57B. - (1) An employee may present a complaint to an employment tribunal that his employer has failed to permit him to take time off as required by section 57A.
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(2) An employment tribunal shall not consider a complaint under this section unless it is presented-
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(a) before the end of the period of three months beginning with the date when the failure occurred, or |
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(b) within such further period as the tribunal considers reasonable in a case where it is satisfied that it was not reasonably practicable for the complaint to be presented before the end of that period of three months. |
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(3) Where an employment tribunal finds a complaint under subsection (1) well-founded, it-
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(a) shall make a declaration to that effect, and |
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(b) may make an award of compensation to be paid by the employer to the employee. |
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(4) The amount of compensation shall be such as the tribunal considers just and equitable in all the circumstances having regard to-
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(a) the employer's default in failing to permit time off to be taken by the employee, and |
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(b) any loss sustained by the employee which is attributable to the matters complained of. |
| Collective and workforce agreements. |
57C. - (1) This section applies to any provision of a collective agreement or a workforce agreement if the provision-
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(a) is of a kind which could be made by regulations under section 57A(3), and |
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(b) is not of a kind excluded from this section by regulations made by the Secretary of State. |
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(2) Where this section applies to a provision of an agreement-
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(a) the provision shall have effect in relation to any employee who has entered into a contract of employment of which the agreement forms part, and |
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(b) any provision of regulations under section 57A(3) which deals with the same matter as the provision in the agreement shall not have effect in relation to that employee. |
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(3) In this section-
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(a) "collective agreement", or |
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(b) "workforce agreement", |
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means an agreement of a kind specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State.
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