Time Off for Dependants

Under section 57A of the Employment Rights Act 1996, employees have the right to take a reasonable amount of time off to:

• Provide assistance when a dependant falls ill, gives birth, or is injured or assaulted
• Make arrangements for the care of a dependant who is ill or injured
• Deal with the unexpected disruption or termination of the dependant's care arrangements
• Deal with a death of a dependant
• Deal with an unexpected incident involving the employee's child during the child's school hours

The right is intended for emergencies and unexpected situations. If your usual childcare arrangements break down suddenly on the morning of a working day, you can use this right to take the time off needed to make alternative arrangements. It is not intended for ongoing care needs or planned absences.

A dependant includes:

• A spouse, civil partner, or partner
• A child of the employee
• A parent of the employee
• A person who lives in the same household as the employee (other than as a lodger, boarder, or employee)
• Any person who reasonably relies on the employee for assistance — in particular, if the person is ill or injured

The definition is broader than immediate family — it can include a grandparent, a friend, or even a carer's client, provided they reasonably rely on the employee. The key is the element of dependency and the reasonable expectation that the employee will provide assistance in an emergency.

To exercise the right to emergency time off, you must tell your employer the reason for the absence and how long you expect to be off as soon as reasonably practicable. You do not need to give advance notice — by definition, the right covers emergencies where advance notice may not be possible.

The leave is unpaid under the statutory right. However, many employers have more generous contractual policies — for example, providing a day or more of paid emergency leave per year. Check your employment contract or staff handbook.

Your employer cannot dismiss you or subject you to any detriment for taking time off for dependants. Dismissal for this reason is automatically unfair, regardless of your length of service. Detriment could include being denied promotion, receiving a negative performance review, or being disciplined for the absence.

The right to emergency time off for dependants (section 57A of the Employment Rights Act 1996) is a short-term emergency entitlement. It is distinct from, and should not be confused with, the longer-term leave entitlements introduced by the Carer's Leave Act 2023, which came into force on 6 April 2024.

The Carer's Leave Act 2023 created a new right for employees with caring responsibilities to take up to one week of unpaid leave per year (equivalent to their working week, up to five days) to provide or arrange care for a dependant with a long-term care need. Unlike time off for dependants, Carer's Leave:

• Is planned leave, not emergency leave — notice of twice the leave period (minimum three days) must be given
• Can be taken flexibly in full days or half days
• Applies specifically where the dependant has a disability (Equality Act definition), a physical or mental illness likely to last at least three months, an old age care need, or needs care related to a specific condition listed in the Carer's Leave Regulations 2024

Parental leave — the right to take up to 18 weeks of unpaid leave per child under 18, in weekly blocks — is another separate entitlement under the Employment Rights Act 1996 that can be relevant where emergency leave does not cover the full period of care needed. Parental leave requires at least one year's service and 21 days' notice. Together, these three rights — emergency dependant leave, Carer's Leave, and parental leave — form a suite of family and caring entitlements that employees can use in combination depending on the circumstances.

In practice, the best way to manage caring responsibilities at work is to communicate openly with your employer as early as possible. Many employers have compassionate leave or emergency leave policies that go beyond the statutory minimum and provide paid leave in genuine caring emergencies. The Acas guidance on time off for family and dependants recommends a flexible approach from employers, recognising that rigid policies that deny emergency leave can cause unnecessary hardship and affect employee retention and morale.

Where you have ongoing caring responsibilities — rather than a single emergency — the right to request flexible working (available from day one of employment since 6 April 2024, following the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023) may be more appropriate. A flexible working arrangement — such as adjusted hours, compressed weeks, or working from home on certain days — can help you manage predictable caring commitments without needing to take emergency or discretionary leave at short notice.

Employees who take emergency dependant leave are also entitled to return to their role on the same terms and conditions. There is a specific protection against detriment or dismissal for exercising this right, similar to the protections for other family leave entitlements. If your employer treats you less favourably for taking emergency leave — for example, by marking you absent without leave, issuing a disciplinary warning, or factoring the absence into a redundancy selection process — this is likely to be unlawful. Document all absences, their reasons, and any employer communications following the absence. Where the dependant whose care needs triggered the leave has a disability within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010, there may also be a disability discrimination dimension to any adverse treatment — the employer's failure to accommodate caring responsibilities for a disabled dependant may engage both the time off for dependants right and the associative discrimination protections established in Coleman v Attridge Law. Acas guidance on time off for dependants is freely available and is a useful first reference point before escalating to a grievance or tribunal claim.