Time off for dependants policy

It's for all employees.

You can ask for unpaid time off in the following emergency situations:

• if a dependant falls ill, has been injured, assaulted or gives birth
• to make longer-term care arrangements for a dependant who is ill or injured
• to deal with the death of a dependant; this could involve making funeral arrangements and attending the funeral
• to deal with the unexpected disruption or breakdown of care arrangements for a dependant, such as a child minder or carer failing to turn up or the closure of an educational establishment 
• to deal with an unexpected incident involving the employee’s child during school hours, such as being suspended or in distress 

For most cases one or two days of leave should be enough. This type of leave is intended to cover genuine emergencies and you must contact your line manager as soon as possible to explain your absence, and let them know when you'll be back.

• The individual is responsible for ensuring they follow the procedure set out below and informing their line manager of the reason for the absence and the estimated length of the absence as soon as possible. 
• Line managers are responsible for discussing and agreeing time off with their employee and arranging for any time off for dependants to be recorded on Oracle via Direct Input.
• Local People Teams are responsible for advising and guiding employees and line managers on this policy.
• Corporate People Team is responsible for ensuring this policy complies with current legal obligations, updating it and other associated documents or processes, accordingly.  

A dependant can be:

• your spouse, civil partner or partner (including same sex couples), child or parent of the employee
• anyone living in an employee’s household as a member of the family – it does not include tenants or boarders living in the family home, or someone who lives in the household as an employee, such as a live-in housekeeper
• in cases of illness or injury, or where care arrangements break down, a dependant may also be someone who reasonably relies on the employee for assistance – this may be where the employee is the primary carer, or is the only person who can help in an emergency; for example, an aunt who lives nearby, who the employee looks after outside work, falls ill unexpectedly, or an elderly neighbour living alone who has a fall