Special Leave

The Employment Relations Act 1996 gives employees the right to have reasonable time off from work when it is necessary to deal with unexpected or sudden emergencies which occur in relation to their dependants. 

The granting of special leave is at the discretion of the Assistant Director, and may be with or without pay, in accordance with the guidelines set out below.  Further guidance can be found in Appendix 1.

Definition of Dependant and Partner

For the purpose of the Special Leave provisions:

- a dependant is defined as:-

(i) anybody living in the household of the employee who is directly dependant on the employee for financial or domestic support;

(ii) any person who lives separately from the employee but who at times of illness requires domestic support from the employee. This may include a close relative, e.g. child, parent, brother or sister of the employee.

A partner is defined as one of the parties in an ongoing and stable relationship.

(1) Family/Domestic Crisis - Time Off for Dependants

In the event of unforeseen family or domestic problems arising, employees may sometimes require an immediate and short-term absence from work to make alternative childcare arrangements, provide care themselves or make other domestic arrangements.

The Assistant Director has discretion to decide how many days should be granted for such emergencies, and it is suggested that in most circumstances up to a maximum of 2 days would be adequate.

The absence may be counted against annual leave or flexitime; should the employee prefer not to use their leave for this purpose, or where leave is exhausted, unpaid leave would apply.

Due to the unforeseen nature of such occurrences, annual leave is sometimes exhausted or fully accounted for.  The flexitime scheme may not provide sufficient flexibility and Assistant Directors may wish to consider granting employees time off, to be repaid over an agreed extended settlement period, to cope with the unexpected.

(2) Bereavement (excluding the loss of a child)

It is not proposed to define immediate relative as it is recognised that personal relationships in families will vary, for example, the employee may have been brought up by his/her grandparents rather than their natural parents. Further guidance is provided in Appendix 1.

Each case should be considered in accordance with the individual circumstances.

Within the existing provisions for special leave, Assistant Directors are recommended to grant up to 5 days paid leave to employees who require time off on the death of a partner, dependant or immediate relative to make funeral arrangements, attendance at the funeral and to attend to probate matters.

Where an employee wishes or is required to attend the funeral of a relative, i.e., aunt, uncle, cousin, Assistant Directors are recommended to grant up to 1 day special leave with pay.  A relative should be a person with whom the employee has some connection.

(2.1) Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay (the loss of a child)

The Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Regulations 2020 gives all employed bereaved parents who lose a child under the age of 18 or suffer a stillbirth (from 24 weeks of pregnancy), the right to leave and pay to be absent from work.  The special leave provisions comply with the regulations.

On the death of a child under the age of 18, or a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy, a bereaved parent is entitled to two weeks of special leave with pay.

For the purposes of this policy, a ‘bereaved parent’ means any person who has a statutory entitlement to parental bereavement leave in respect of a child and includes: 

(i) a child’s parent, including natural, adoptive and those who have become a parent(s) under statutory provisions on surrogacy and fertility treatment;

(ii) a child’s natural parent where the child has been adopted but there is a court order for the child to have contact with the natural parent;

(iii) a person with whom a child has been placed for adoption as long as that placement has not been terminated;

(iv) a person who is living with a child who has entered the UK for the purpose of being adopted by that person, and that person has received official notification from the relevant authorities that they are eligible to adopt;

(v) an “intended parent” under a surrogacy arrangement where it was expected that the court would make a parental order under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008;

(vi) a person who for a continuous period of at least four weeks before the child’s death lived with the child in the person’s home, and had day to day responsibility for the child’s care (provided they are not paid for that role, foster payments excepted and the child’s parent or anyone with legal parental responsibility is not also living in the home with the child); and

(vii) the partner of any of the above bereaved parent who lives with the bereaved parent and the child in an enduring family relationship.

The two weeks’ leave can be taken either in one block of two weeks, or as two separate blocks of one week each.

Leave can be taken at any time within 56 weeks of the child’s death.

(3) Care for Seriously Ill Dependant/Partner

It is recognised that situations may arise when employees are required to care for a seriously or terminally ill partner/dependant. As the guidance states, this is about unplanned or sudden need.

It is not proposed to lay down a minimum or maximum amount of special leave, but to make recommendations as to what would be fair and reasonable in individual circumstances.

A period of 3-5 days paid leave may be granted on production of written evidence in line with policy if required. This period of paid leave may be extended at the discretion of the Assistant Director if warranted by the individual circumstances.

If the period of dependency is to be lengthy, leave can be extended by the use of annual leave or if this is exhausted or fully accounted for, unpaid leave.

(4) Carers Leave

The Carer’s Leave Regulations 2024 introduces the right to take at least one week of unpaid carer’s leave per year to provide or arrange care for a dependant with a long-term care need. This carers’ leave entitlement aims to support caregivers who balance work commitments with caring responsibilities.

Employees are entitled to unpaid leave to give or arrange care for a dependant who has:

• a physical or mental illness or injury that means they’re expected to need care for more than 3 months
• a disability (as defined in the Equality Act 2010)
• care needs because of their old age

The dependant does not have to be a family member. It can be anyone who relies on them for care.

Employees can take up to one week of unpaid leave every 12 months. A ‘week’ means the length of time an employee usually works over 7 days. For example, if someone usually works 3 days a week, they can take 3 days of carer’s leave.  The leave can be taken flexibly in a block or in individual or half days to suit your caring responsibilities throughout the year.

This leave is per employee and not per dependant.  Employees are required to provide notice prior to when they want their leave to start. If the request is for half a day or a day, the notice period must be at least 3 days.  If the request is for more than one day, the notice period must be at least twice as long as the requested leave. For example, if the request is for 2 days, the notice period must be at least 4 days.  The notice period needs to be in full days, even if the request includes half day amounts.

Employees are not required to give evidence of their dependant’s care needs.

This leave type is separate to the care for seriously ill dependant/partner and family/domestic crisis - time off for dependants, it is important that everyone is aware of the distinctions between the types of leave therefore please refer to Appendix 1 at the end of this policy to ensure you meet the criteria. 

(5) Family Responsibilities

The following situations are included in these guidelines in recognition that there will be time when employees will need to be absent from work due to exceptional circumstances. 

Various options are available at the discretion of Assistant Directors, to enable a flexible approach to be taken in such situations and the granting of special leave is one of these options.

(i) Religious Holidays

It is recognised that some employees may wish to be absent from work to celebrate a religious holiday which does not coincide with Bank Holidays currently granted.

Whenever possible, annual leave or flexitime should be taken in these circumstances.

Assistant Directors may wish to consider allowing an employee to work on a Bank Holiday and take a day in lieu to celebrate their religious holiday if this is operationally feasible.

In exceptional circumstances, up to 1 day unpaid leave may be granted at the Assistant Director's discretion.

(ii) Cancer Screening

Necessary paid time off shall be granted to officers for the purpose of cancer screening.

(iii) Foster Carers

Sefton Council is a Fostering Friendly Employer.  We support our employees to offer the best to children in our care.  We will support foster carers by giving paid time off per leave year as follows:

Up to 3 days paid leave per year (pro rata for part time employees) is available to employees who are prospective foster carers to cover the assessment and initial training process prior to approval.  Up to 1 day paid leave per year (pro rata for part time employees) is available for attendance at panel to become approved foster carers.  Where both partners are employees of the Council, the leave entitlement will apply to each partner.

Employees who become approved foster carers are entitled to up to 5 days paid leave per year (pro rata for part time employees) to attend necessary meetings and/or training provided by the Fostering Agency.  Where both partners are employees, the leave entitlement will apply to each partner.  Additional unpaid leave can also be requested.  Employees can take the leave as half days when appropriate.

These leave provisions apply where employees are applying to become a foster carer or are approved foster carers with Sefton Council or any Ofsted Registered Fostering Agency.

(iv) Premature Births

Employees who give birth to premature babies (before 37 weeks) are entitled to paid special leave for the number of days a baby was born prior to their due date. Fathers/partners of the mother of the premature baby will be entitled to 2 weeks paid special leave, in addition to paternity leave.

(1) Attendance at Meetings of Outside Bodies

Leave with pay will be granted where an employee is required to attend meetings of outside bodies (e.g. school governors, professional bodies excluding Trade Unions). Governors working within Sefton Schools can take time off under the Volunteering Scheme. Further guidance can be found in Appendix 1. Volunteering is about taking part in volunteering activities.

(2) Trade Union Duties

Leave with pay will be granted for an employee to attend meetings for Trade Union duties at the discretion of the appropriate Assistant Director in consultation with the Head of HR and Workforce. Leave with pay will be granted for annual conferences subject to a limitation on numbers.

(3) Magisterial Duties

Leave will be granted with pay for magisterial duties.

(4) Jury Service

An employee receiving a summons to serve on a jury must report the fact to their Assistant Director, who shall grant leave of absence unless exemption is secured.

An employee serving as a juror shall claim the allowance for loss of earnings to which they are entitled under the Jurors' Allowance Regulations currently in force.  The employing authority shall then deduct from the employee's full pay an amount equal to the allowance received. Jury service is classed as authorised leave of absence therefore pension is not affected.    

(5) Joint Negotiating Bodies

Leave will be granted with pay for attendance at other Joint Negotiating bodies e.g. Youth and Community Workers.

(6) Service with Non-Regular Forces (e.g. to attend annual training camp)

Employees who are members of the Non-Regular Forces may be granted a maximum of two weeks’ leave with pay to attend annual camp per annum.  Requests may be subject to restriction if multiple applications are received within the same section/area of service, who apply for the same period of time off in order to meet the operational needs of the department.

(7) Serving as a Member on Another Local Authority

Leave will be granted with pay (subject to statutory limits).

(8) Court Appearances

Leave to attend court as a witness in a criminal action should be treated the same as Jury Service attendance. Any instances involving civil actions should be referred to the Head of HR and Workforce.

(9) Election Duties

Leave will be granted with pay to any employee who works on a Polling Station or as a Visiting Presiding Officer.

(1) Examinations/Study Leave 

Leave for the purposes of sitting examinations applicable to a local government service is to be granted with pay. 

Leave with pay for the purpose of study immediately prior to an examination (as outlined above) may be granted at the discretion of the Assistant Director with a recommendation of half a day's leave for 1 examination (pro rata). 

For further information regarding granting of leave for study please refer to the Post Entry Qualification Policy.

(2) Granting of Leave for Attendance at Job and Course Interviews 

Paid leave will be granted for attendance at interviews leading to acceptance on recognised training courses or enrolment on training courses with relevance to the Authority. 

Where an employee is placed “at risk” of redundancy, reasonable paid time off is allowed to seek alternative employment. 

Apprentices who are nearing the end of their apprenticeship will be given reasonable paid time off to secure a role.

Employees taking authorised unpaid leave under this policy can chose whether to pay contributions to cover the pension “lost” during the period of authorised unpaid leave via an Additional Pension Contribution (APC) based on age and gender.

Pay will be deducted relative to the number of hours worked on each day special leave is granted and will not build up pension benefits. You can elect to cover the period of pension “lost” by taking out a Shared Cost Additional Pension Contribution (SCAPC) contract.

If you wish to purchase any “lost pension” please refer to the link below where you can calculate the cost to purchase using the deduction figure for unpaid leave on your payslip. Buy lost pension calculator :: LGPS (lgpsmember.org) If you wish to purchase, please print and send a copy to centralpensions@sefton.gov.uk within 30 days of the absence to ensure a shared cost between you and  employer. Any requests after the 30 days are at a whole cost to the employee. You can contact the team on 0151 934 3550, 3509 or 4126 for further information.

Agile working 

Annual Leave Policy

Working Hours Standard and Flexible

Flexible Retirement Policy

Right to request flexible working arrangements

Parental Leave Policy

Volunteer Scheme

Post Entry Qualification Policy

Trade Union Time Off