Employment Rights Act 1996

Public duties E+W+S

50 Right to time off for public duties. E+W+S

(1) An employer shall permit an employee of his who is a justice of the peace to take time off during the employee’s working hours for the purpose of performing any of the duties of his office.

(2) An employer shall permit an employee of his who is a member of—

(a) a local authority,

(b) a statutory tribunal,

(c) a police authority,

[F1 (ca) the Service Authority for the National Criminal Intelligence Service or the Service Authority for the National Crime Squad,]

(d) a board of prison visitors or a prison visiting committee,

(e) a relevant health body,

(f) a relevant education body, or

(g) the Environment Agency or the Scottish Environment Protection Agency,

to take time off during the employee’s working hours for the purposes specified in subsection (3).

(3) The purposes referred to in subsection (2) are—

(a) attendance at a meeting of the body or any of its committees or sub-committees, and

(b) the doing of any other thing approved by the body, or anything of a class so approved, for the purpose of the discharge of the functions of the body or of any of its committees or sub-committees.

(4) The amount of time off which an employee is to be permitted to take under this section, and the occasions on which and any conditions subject to which time off may be so taken, are those that are reasonable in all the circumstances having regard, in particular, to—

(a) how much time off is required for the performance of the duties of the office or as a member of the body in question, and how much time off is required for the performance of the particular duty,

(b) how much time off the employee has already been permitted under this section or sections 168 and 170 of the M1 Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (time off for trade union duties and activities), and

(c) the circumstances of the employer’s business and the effect of the employee’s absence on the running of that business.

(5) In subsection (2)(a) “a local authority” means—

(a) a local authority within the meaning of the M2 Local Government Act 1972,

(b) a council constituted under section 2 of the M3 Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994,

(c) the Common Council of the City of London,

(d) a National Park authority, or

(e) the Broads Authority.

(6) The reference in subsection (2) to a member of a police authority is to a person appointed as such a member under Schedule 2 to the M4 Police Act 1996.

(7) In subsection (2)(d)—

(a) “a board of prison visitors” means a board of visitors appointed under section 6(2) of the M5 Prison Act 1952, and

(b) “a prison visiting committee” means a visiting committee appointed under section 19(3) of the M6 Prisons (Scotland) Act 1989 or constituted by virtue of rules made under section 39 (as read with section 8(1)) of that Act.

(8) In subsection (2)(e) “a relevant health body” means—

(a) a National Health Service trust established under Part I of the M7 National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 or the M8 National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978,

(b) a Health Authority established under section 8 of the M9 National Health Service Act 1977 [F2 , a Special Health Authority established under section 11 of that Act or a Primary Care Trust established under section 16A of that Act], or

(c) a Health Board constituted under section 2 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978.

(9) In subsection (2)(f) “a relevant education body” means—

(a) a managing or governing body of an educational establishment maintained by a local education authority,

(b) a governing body of a F3 . . . further education corporation or higher education corporation,

(c) a school council appointed under section 125(1) of the M10 Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973,

(d) a school board within the meaning of section 1(1) of the M11 School Boards (Scotland) Act 1988,

(e) a board of management of a self-governing school within the meaning of section 135(1) of the M12 Education (Scotland) Act 1980,

(f) a board of management of a college of further education within the meaning of section 36(1) of the M13 Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992,

(g) a governing body of a central institution within the meaning of section 135(1) of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, or

(h) a governing body of a designated institution within the meaning of Part II of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992.

(10) The Secretary of State may by order—

(a) modify the provisions of subsections (1) and (2) and (5) to (9) by adding any office or body, removing any office or body or altering the description of any office or body, or

(b) modify the provisions of subsection (3).

(11) For the purposes of this section the working hours of an employee shall be taken to be any time when, in accordance with his contract of employment, the employee is required to be at work.

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 50(2)(ca) inserted (23.7.1997) by 1997 c. 50, s. 134(1), Sch. 9 para. 88; S.I. 1997/1377, art. 4(2)(o)(r)

F2 Words in s. 50(8)(b) substituted (8.2.2000) by S.I. 2000/90, art. 3, Sch. 1 para. 30(2) (with s. 2(5)

F3 Words in s. 50(9)(b) repealed (1.9.1999) by 1998 c. 31, s. 140(3), Sch. 31 (with ss. 138(9), 144(6)); S.I. 1999/2323, art. 2(1), Sch. 1

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 50(3) applied (1.4.1998) by S.I. 1998/633, art. J12(2)

C2 S. 50(4) excluded (1.4.1998) by S.I. 1998/633, art. J12(1)

Marginal Citations

M1 1992 c. 52.

M2 1972 c. 70.

M3 1994 c. 39.

M4 1996 c. 16.

M5 1952 c. 52.

M6 1989 c. 45.

M7 1990 c. 19.

M8 1978 c. 29.

M9 1977 c. 49.

M10 1973 c. 65.

M11 1988 c. 47.

M12 1980 c. 44.

M13 1992 c. 37.

51 Complaints to [F4 employment tribunals]. E+W+S

(1) An employee may present a complaint to an [F4 employment tribunal] that his employer has failed to permit him to take time off as required by section 50.

(2) An [F4 employment tribunal] shall not consider a complaint under this section that an employer has failed to permit an employee to take time off unless it is presented—

(a) before the end of the period of three months beginning with the date on which the failure occurred, or

(b) within such further period as the tribunal considers reasonable in a case where it is satisfied that it was not reasonably practicable for the complaint to be presented before the end of that period of three months.

(3) Where an [F4 employment tribunal] finds a complaint under this section well-founded, the tribunal—

(a) shall make a declaration to that effect, and

(b) may make an award of compensation to be paid by the employer to the employee.

(4) The amount of the compensation shall be such as the tribunal considers just and equitable in all the circumstances having regard to—

(a) the employer’s default in failing to permit time off to be taken by the employee, and

(b) any loss sustained by the employee which is attributable to the matters to which the complaint relates.

Textual Amendments

F4 Words in s. 51(1)-(3) and sidenote to s. 51 substituted (1.8.1998) by 1998 c. 8, s. 1(2)(a)(b) (with s. 16(2)); S.I. 1998/1658, art. 2(1), Sch. 1