Whichever type of school and college you work in you are entitled to statutory time off for specific purposes. In addition LAs, schools and colleges can have their own policies for additional discretionary leave of absence.
(For Sick Leave see B16 and Sick Pay see B17).
Quick Guides Leave of Absence (LA) Section under Management of Staff.

WITH PAY
Trade Union Duties
Reasonable time off work for trade union duties and to undergo training for trade union duties should be provided. Although the time off is a right the requests must be 'reasonable'. The school is not bound to grant a request, if the absence will cause damage to the service provided by the school, which could be avoided if permission was given for the time off to be taken at a different time.

Union Learning Representative
A Union Learning Representative (ULR) is a new category of union representative. They are trained in advising members on learning needs and opportunities. They are entitled to reasonable time off with pay to carry out their duties and to take part in relevant training.

Elected Employee Representatives
An elected employee representative (whether a member of a trade union or not) must be allowed time off with pay to perform his/her function if there are proposed redundancies or transfer of undertakings.

Employees made Redundant
If you have been continuously employed for two years or more and are made redundant, you must be given reasonable time off to arrange training or look for a new job. Seeking work can include perusal of newspapers in a local library, attending careers interviews, or even a door-to-door search.

Ante-natal Care
A pregnant woman who has made an appointment to receive ante-natal care on the advice of a registered medical practitioner, registered midwife, or registered health worker, has the right to take time off to attend the session, provided that, if her employer requests it, she produces evidence of the appointment, and except for the first appointment, produces a certificate stating that she is pregnant.

WITHOUT PAY
The law requires that 'reasonable' time off without pay should be granted in the following circumstances:

Trade Union Activities
Members of recognised trade unions are entitled to reasonable time off without pay during working hours to take part in union activities. The Employment Rights Act 1996 did not specify what constitutes 'union activity', except to say that industrial action is not included. But union meetings are probably included, although the purpose for the time off need not be directly connected with school business.

Other trade union activities might be:

• attending union meetings at work to discuss negotiations with the employer;
• taking part in a union conference; or
• taking part in a union election.

ACAS Code of Practice on Time Off for Trade Union Duties and Activities gives guidance on the question of how much time off, and the problem of what might constitute union activity (for example, voting on industrial action).
www.acas.org.uk

Public Duties
The following must be allowed reasonable unpaid time off to perform their duties:

• Justices of the Peace;
• Members of LA councils;
• Members of boards of prison visitors;
• Members of a police authority;
• Statutory tribunal members;
• National Rivers Authority members;
• Health Authority members;
• Members of a National Health Service Trust; and
• Members of school, college or higher Education Corporation governing bodies.

Duties include attendance at meetings or any other occasion approved by the body for the purpose of discharging their duties.

Reasonable Time
The amount of time off that an employer must allow depends on what is reasonable in the circumstances, having regard to:

• how much time is required;
• how much time off the employee has had previously both under this heading and also for any trade union duties and activities; and
• the school's or college's circumstances.

See DBERR booklet: Time off for public duties (PL 702).

Jury Service
You can be called on for jury service and time off must be allowed. Pay is at the discretion of the school. Members of juries are entitled to allowances and expenses. In common with everyone else, school employees can ask to be relieved of the duty. Courts will only grant exemptions for good reasons. They are usually sympathetic if the summons is at a sensitive time when the absence of a member of staff might cause particular damage to children's education.
Quick Guides Leave of Absence (LA) Section under Management of Staff.