Policy

For full details on this leave type please refer to the special leave policy.

Special Leave [pdf]

Submit leave

Family Emergency leave is to allow employees to deal with unexpected or sudden problems connected with dependents and to make longer term arrangements as necessary. It is granted according to the circumstances.

Examples of situations where emergency family leave is appropriate: 

  • An unexpected disruption or breakdown in care arrangements.
  • An unexpected incident during a child’s school hours, e.g. child sent home from school. 
  • The death of a dependant, for example to deal with funeral arrangements (this may be dealt with under the compassionate leave policy and some or all of the leave may be paid).
  • A dependant falling ill or being in an accident or being assaulted (this may be dealt with under the compassionate leave policy and some or all of the leave may be paid).

Leave amount

Paid leave of up to 5 working days per annum (pro rata for part-time staff).

If staff know in advance that time off to deal with family matters will be needed, and this is not covered under the Emergency Family Leave policy, staff should discuss with their manager the options of using annual leave entitlement or parental leave/maternity support leave, if appropriate.

Requesting family emergency leave

Staff guidance

You must notify your line manager as soon as is reasonably practicable as to the reason for your absence and how long you expect to be away. 

Your line manager will update your absence records on your behalf.

In exceptional circumstances, if you have returned to work before it is possible to contact your manager, you will still need to inform your manager of the reason for your absence when you return.

Further advice is available from the Staff Hub.

Manager guidance

Review the request and approve or decline. Update TeamSeer absence records.

Arrangements for additional leave are to be agreed as reasonably practical, e.g. annual leave, parental leave/maternity support leave or unpaid leave.