Other types of leave

An employee is allowed a reasonable amount of time to deal with unexpected or sudden emergencies concerning a dependant. This is unpaid unless contractual arrangements state otherwise.

Garden leave is a term used to describe a situation whereby an employee who has resigned from their employment or who has been dismissed by the employer is not required to work their notice and instead remains at home during the period of notice.

Workers have the right to take paid time off during working hours to accompany fellow workers employed by the same employer to certain disciplinary and grievance hearings.

Employees who act as representatives for consultation about redundancies or business transfers, or are candidates to be representatives of this kind, are entitled to reasonable time off with pay during working hours to perform these functions and to receive appropriate training.

Parents of children under the age of seventeen (or disabled children under the age of eighteen) and carers of adults have the right to apply to their employer to work more flexibly.

Jury service is a public duty.

Employees who are trustees of an occupational pension scheme (as defined in Section 1 of the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993) or directors of trustee companies are entitled to reasonable time off with pay to carry out any of their trustee’s duties, or to receive training relevant to those duties.

Under certain circumstances employers must give employees who hold certain public positions reasonable time off to perform the duties associated with them.

An employee who is being made redundant and who has been continuously employed by the same employer for at least two years is entitled, whilst under notice, to take reasonable time off with pay within working hours to look for another job, or to make arrangements for training for future employment.

Employees aged 16 or 17 who have not achieved a certain standard in their education or training have the right to reasonable time off with pay to study or train for a relevant qualification which will help them towards that standard.

An employee who is an official of an independent trade union which is recognised by the employer must be allowed reasonable time off with pay during working hours to:

There may be circumstances where an employee is required to take unpaid leave from their employment.