Time off MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS Circumstances may arise where you need to visit the opticians, hospital, doctors, dentists or specialists. Wherever possible, you should arrange the appointment outside of your normal working hours. If this is not possible then appointments should be made as close to your starting or finishing time as possible. You should discuss the absence with a manager and give as much notice as possible. EMERGENCY TIME OFF FOR DEPENDENTS In cases of an emergency involving dependents, we understand that you may need to take emergency leave on short notice to make arrangements to care for a dependent(s). A dependent is a spouse, civil partner, child, parent, or someone you live with, such as a tenant, lodger, or boarder. In these situations, you should contact a manager, who will arrange for appropriate time off. This time off will not be paid; however, you may be able to book a holiday or work it back. COMPASSIONATE LEAVE In the event of the death of an immediate family member, you may contact a manager and request compassionate leave. Each case will be reviewed sympathetically, and the amount of leave granted will be determined by your individual circumstances. When granting paid or unpaid leave, the following factors will be considered: • Your relationship with the family member • Their distance from you • Your role in funeral planning for these purposes, immediate family means your spouse, civil partner, partner, parent, child, sibling, or grandparent PARENTAL/MATERNITY/ PATERNITY/ADOPTION/ SHARED PARENTAL LEAVE AND PAY You may be entitled to parental/maternity/ paternity/adoption/shared parental leave and pay in accordance with the current statutory provisions. If you or your partner become pregnant or are notified of a match date for adoption purposes you should notify a manager at an early stage so that entitlements and obligations can be explained to you. If you require further information please contact the HR Department. TIME OFF FOR ANTENATAL / ADOPTION APPOINTMENTS If you are pregnant, you may take reasonable paid time off during working hours for antenatal appointments. Please try to give us as much notice as possible of the appointment. We may ask you to provide the following, unless it is the first appointment: a) a certificate from the doctor, midwife or health visitor stating that you are pregnant and; b) an appointment card. You may also be entitled to take time off to accompany a pregnant woman to an antenatal appointment if you have a “qualifying relationship” with the woman or the child. Where you and your partner are adopting a child, you must decide between you who will be treated as the primary adopter and who will be treated as the secondary adopter for the purposes of time off. You must tell us your decision the first time you request time off for an adoption appointment. This will affect how much time you can take off and whether it is paid. If you require further information, please contact the HR Department. CARERS LEAVE The law recognises and we respect that there may be occasions when you will need to take time off work to provide or arrange care for a dependant with a longterm care need. You have a right to take up to one week of unpaid time off work in each rolling 12-month period to provide or arrange care for a dependant with a longterm care need. A dependant for the purposes of this policy is: a) your spouse, civil partner, child or parent; b) a person who lives in the same household as you, but who is not your tenant, lodger, boarder or employee; or c) anyone else who reasonably relies on you to provide or arrange care for them. A dependant has a long-term care need for the purposes of this policy if: a) they have an illness or injury (whether physical or mental) that requires, or is likely to require, care for more than three months; b) they have a disability for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010; or c) they require care for a reason connected with their old age. If you require further information, please contact the HR Department. PARENTAL BEREAVEMENT LEAVE In the event of the death of a child or a stillbirth after at least 24 weeks of pregnancy. Parental bereavement leave can be one week, two consecutive weeks, or two separate weeks. It can be taken at any time during the first 56 weeks after the child’s death. You should notify a manager or the HR Department so that entitlements and obligations can be explained to you. JURY SERVICE If you are called up for jury service, you should contact a manager as soon as possible to discuss the matter. Jury service typically lasts 10 working days, but it may be longer. You need to provide a copy of the court summons and any other relevant documentation to a manager. If the company believes that your absence from jury service will cause significant harm to its business, you must file an application for excusal or deferral of jury service, as applicable. If a manager believes that this applies, you should not submit the application until a manager has provided you with a letter and any other relevant evidence to support the application. Jury service time will be unpaid unless approved by a senior manager. With your jury summons, you will receive a Certificate of Loss of Earnings or Benefit, which you can submit to the HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) for reimbursement, up to a limit, for earnings lost due to absence from work for jury service. If your services are not required for any part of the court day, you may be expected to return to work for the rest of the day. 13 12
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