Key takeaways
Existing right to unpaid time off for public duties
Employees can take unpaid time off to preform specified public roles.
Consultation proposes expanding eligible public roles
Proposed addition of special constables, academy governors, judges, and various public board members.
Some roles removed and changes may be rapid
Certain board roles excluded; Secretary of State can implement changes quickly.
Employees currently have a right to take unpaid time off from work during normal working hours to perform specified public duties (s50 Employment Rights Act 1996). Whilst this is a right to unpaid time off, some employers allow paid time off.
Following the first comprehensive review of these time off rights in over 50 years, the government has recently published a report and a consultation which proposes future reform of the list of public duties eligible for unpaid time off. The proposed reforms are intended to ensure consistency across the devolved nations and to continue to enable working people to balance their public duties alongside paid employment.
The consultation proposes the following additions are made to the list of public duties for which employees will be entitled to take unpaid time off:
special constables
governors of academies and academy trusts
members of a Conservation Board
members of a Corporate Joint Committee
members of the governing body/audit committee members of a designated educational institution
fee-paid judges
members of an NHS Integration Joint Board and
lay panel members of the Judicial Appointments Commission.
It is also proposed that the following public roles should be removed from the list of those eligible for reasonable time off:
board members of the Environment Agency
board members of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency
members of the General Teaching Council for Wales/Education Workforce Council
board members of national health bodies and
board members of Scottish Water.
The consultation closes on 4 September 2026. The Secretary of State has the power to amend the list of public duties by order, meaning that following the consultation the proposed changes can be implemented rapidly.
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