Reserve Forces (Safeguard of Employment) Act 1985

1 Obligation to reinstate. U.K.

(1) This section applies to a person who has entered upon a period of whole-time service—

(a) in pursuance of any notice or directions given under any enactment which provides for the calling out on permanent service or the embodiment of any reserve or auxiliary force, or members of such a force, or the recall of service pensioners;

(b) in pursuance of any obligation or undertaking, whether legally enforceable or not, to serve, when called upon, as a commissioned officer, not being an obligation or undertaking—

(i) to accept a permanent commission or a commission for a fixed term, or

(ii) to serve for the purposes of periodical training,

and in this subsection “service pensioner” means a person in receipt of a pension granted in respect of service in the regular forces, or in respect of that service and other service, not being a pension awarded in respect of disablement.

(2) Where such a person applies to his former employer to be taken into his employment, the former employer shall, so long as the application remains in force, be obliged to take the applicant into his employment—

(a) in the occupation in which the applicant was last employed by the former employer before the beginning of his whole-time service and on terms and conditions not less favourable to him than those which would have been applicable to him in that occupation had he not entered on such service; or

(b) if it is not reasonable and practicable that the applicant should be taken into employment in that occupation and on those terms and conditions, in the most favourable occupation and on the most favourable terms and conditions which are reasonable and practicable in his case.

(3) That obligation is to take the applicant into employment as mentioned above at the first opportunity (if any) at which it is reasonable and practicable for the former employer so to do on or after such date as may be notified to him in accordance with section 4 as the date on which the applicant will be available for employment.

(4) A former employer’s obligation is discharged if after giving reasonable notice to the applicant he makes such employment available to him at that first opportunity, except that—

(a) an opportunity for taking the applicant into his former employer’s employment shall not be deemed for the purposes of subsection (3) and this subsection to have arisen if—

(i) the former employer makes employment available to the applicant, but the applicant has, or reasonably believes that he has, reasonable cause for not taking it; and

(ii) the facts on which the applicant relies as constituting the reasonable cause are notified in writing to the former employer by him or by some person acting with his authority as soon as may be after he has been notified by the former employer that the employment is being made available to him; and

(b) in no case shall the former employer be under any obligation under this section to take the applicant into his employment after six months have elapsed from the end of the applicant’s whole-time service.

(5) Any notice to be given under subsection (4) by the former employer to the applicant shall (without prejudice to any other mode for the giving of such notice) be deemed to have been duly given if it is sent to the applicant addressed to him—

(a) at such address as may be provided by him for the purpose; or

(b) if no such address is so provided, at his last known place of abode.