As an employee you are allowed time off to deal with an emergency involving a dependent. A dependent could be a spouse, partner, child, grandchild, parent, or someone who depends on you for care. You could get time off when a dependent is involved in the following emergencies;
Illness or injury (this includes mental or physical illnesses that don’t have to be life-threatening or need full-time care - it could be an existing condition that has worsened)
· Disruption of care arrangements (for example; a child minder or carer doesn’t turn up to look after a dependent)
· A nursing home or nursery closes unexpectedly
· If your child is involved in an incident during school time
· You can also take time off to arrange longer term care for a dependent
How much you get
You’re allowed a reasonable amount of time off to deal with the emergency, but there’s no set amount of time as it depends on the situation.
Limits on time off
There are no limits on how many times you can take time off for dependents. We may talk to you if we believe the time off is affecting your work.
Pay
Each instance will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, but generally speaking you will not be paid for any time off.
Exceptions
You can’t have time off if you knew about a situation beforehand. For example you wouldn’t be covered if you wanted to take your child to hospital for an appointment (you might getparental leave instead).
Taking time off
Tell your line manager as soon as possible if you need time off. If it’s an emergency, you may not be able to do this before you leave work but you should let your line manager know as soon as possible.You don’t have to do this in writing or give written proof.
