Category Archives: Time off

Checking entitlement to shared parental leave and pay

Not only is shared parental leave a fairly new thing, but because of the nature of it, understanding who is/isn’t entitled to it and how much leave they are allowed to take can be difficult. Here’s our quick guide to checking whether your employee can

Emergency dependants’ leave – 7 common questions answered

Employees are legally entitled to emergency dependants’ leave, which is time off work to deal with an emergency involving a dependant. Here are 7 of the most frequently asked questions about dependants’ leave, including entitlement, pay arrangements and other common challenges. Who is eligible for

Five things small businesses need to know about compassionate leave

Managing the various different types of leave employees take can be difficult – business owners need to understand what their obligations are, what good practice looks like and to balance these with being consistent and fair in their approach. With that in mind, here are

Time off for medical appointments

Given that most (non-emergency) medical clinics operate mainly within the conventional working week, and the same for most dentists, it is inevitable that even the healthiest employees will need time off for medical or dental appointments at some point. But the rules and requirements and

Employees going on jury service – some FAQs

Most employers have to deal with employees going off on jury service at some point, and here are some of the key questions we get asked by clients when a member of their team receives a summons. Can I refuse to give an employee time

So what exactly do employers have to do when temperatures soar?

The heatwave seems to be calming down at least a bit, but I’ve had a number of discussions over the last couple of weeks about employers’ obligations when temperatures at work get very high. One of the common questions I get is whether there’s a

Getting a head start on the Olympics

The Olympics is fast approaching and with a bit of planning and forethought it could be an excellent opportunity to boost employee morale and store up some goodwill for the future. Many employees will be interested in the sporting events over the summer and equally

Dealing with snowy days

This week I’ve been getting lots of questions about how to deal with- snow days’ when staff do not come into work because of the weather, so I’m addressing some of them here. Do I need to pay employees who don’t come in because of