Time Off Policy - February 2026

The rights to adoption or surrogacy leave and pay will entitle eligible employees to take paid leave when a child is newly placed for adoption or surrogacy. The Authority has a separate adoption and surrogacy leave policy; please refer to the following link for further details: Adoption and Surrogacy Leave policy.

The main adopter will be able to take paid time off for up to five adoption appointments. The secondary adopter will be entitled to take unpaid time off for up to two appointments. Adoption appointments are appointments made by an adoption agency relating to a child being placed for adoption or for a fostering for adoption placement.

Employees and agency workers who have a qualifying relationship with a pregnant employee or an expected child are entitled to take unpaid time off work to accompany that pregnant employee at up to two antenatal appointments.

Employees will have the right from day one of their employment. Agency workers will qualify after 12 weeks in the same assignment. The right to time off is capped at a maximum of six-and-a-half hours on each occasion, which can include travelling time, waiting time and attendance.

An employee or agency worker has a qualifying relationship with a pregnant employee or the expected child if they:

•    are the husband or civil partner of the pregnant employee.
•    live with the pregnant employee in an enduring family relationship, but is not the parent, grandparent, sister, brother, aunt or uncle.
•    are the parent of the expected child; or
•    is an intended parent in a surrogacy situation who meets certain conditions.

Time off with pay to attend a maximum of six meetings of governing bodies per annum, (pro rata for part time employees). This applies to non-teaching staff appointed governors.

Career breaks provide employees with the opportunity to take a longer unpaid break away from work than is provided for by parental or other leave arrangements without losing continuity of employment. The aim is for the Authority to retain skilled and experienced employees who may otherwise choose to leave the workforce permanently. 

A career break may be approved for a variety of reasons (including childcare, eldercare, care for another dependant, training or study leave). For employees to be eligible to make an application they must have completed 12 months continuous service with the Authority. Each application will be considered on its own merit.

The Authority has a separate career break policy; please follow the link for further details: Career break policy. 

Employees who suffer the loss of a child under the age of 18 are entitled to two weeks paid time off. This includes parents who suffer a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy.

There is no minimum length of service requirement. This type of leave applies to the parent of the child who has passed away, or the partner of the child's parent. In general, this type of leave is for those with parental responsibility for the child. 
 
The two weeks of parental bereavement leave. Can be taken as a single block of two weeks; or two separate blocks of one week at different times.

Employees can take two weeks of parental bereavement leave. This can be taken as:

•    a single block of two weeks; or
•    two separate blocks of one week at different times.

Employees cannot take the leave as individual days.

The leave can be taken at the time the employee chooses within the 56 weeks after the bereavement, for example, to take it at a particularly difficult time such as the child's birthday.

If the employee has lost more than one child more than one child, they have a separate entitlement to bereavement leave for each child who has passed away.

If the employee needs to take parental bereavement leave within the first 56 days after the bereavement, this can be taken straight away. The employee does not have to provide any notice. Employees should let their line manager know no later than when you are due to start work on the first day on which they wish to take leave or, if that is not feasible, as soon as possible.

To take leave more than 56 days after the bereavement, employee as required to give their line manager at least one week's notice.

If the employee has lost more than one child, they have a separate entitlement for each child.

Up to a maximum of 5 days paid time off (pro rata part time) is available to employees in the event of the death, critical illness or injury of a member of the employee’s immediate family. In the event of the death of a child, parent or partner this may be extended to 10 days. Authorisation must be sought from the Head of Service in these exceptional circumstances.

Immediate family for the purpose of this policy is defined as the employee's spouse, civil partner, partner, parent, child, sibling or grandparent including step relationships. 

Bereavement

In the event of the death of a member of the employee's immediate family, the employee should contact their line manager to request compassionate leave. The employee should inform the manager of the need to take compassionate leave as soon as reasonably practicable. Each case will be viewed sympathetically and the amount of leave granted will depend on the individual's circumstances. The manager will consider matters such as the employee's relationship with the immediate family member, domestic responsibilities and travel requirements. 

In the case of death of another relative for example an aunt or uncle, the employee may request compassionate leave to attend the funeral. 

Critical Injury or critical illness

Compassionate leave is available where there is critical injury or critical illness of an immediate family member as defined above. The manager will consider factors such as the nature of the incident, the employee's relationship with the immediate family member, domestic responsibilities and travel requirements. 

Emergency domestic situations

Time off work for up to 1 day may be approved to enable employees to deal with emergency domestic situations at home, such as flood, fire or burglary. It does not apply to planned events such as domestic repairs, refurbishment, building or trades work, installation of appliances, home deliveries, etc. 

The employee should inform their manager of the need to take compassionate leave as soon as reasonably practicable. Each case will be viewed sympathetically, and the outcome of the employee's request will depend on the employee's circumstances. If the employee wishes to take further leave, they should request annual leave in the usual way. 

Hosting Ukrainian people seeking refuge from the war

Employees who are welcoming and hosting a Ukrainian family into their home may request up to a maximum of 10 compassionate paid leave days (pro rata for part time employees) to be taken within the first 6 months of placement.  This will enable them to initially provide comfort and support to evacuees and allow for subsequent days to be taken to assist with attending appointments with support services/agencies, schools, GP’s, social workers, counsellors etc. 

Domestic abuse or sexual violence – safe leave

Those experiencing domestic abuse can find themselves isolated from friends and family and lose their independence.  Safe leave will provide for up to 10 days paid time off, separate from special leave or sickness absence to anyone experiencing domestic abuse, domestic or sexual violence at a time when it is most needed. This will allow employees to access help and support without the worry of it affecting their finances, using up their annual leave, struggling to do their work and accessing essential services, and would make a real and lasting difference. 

Safe leave can be taken as a block of up to 10 days or as intermittent periods of absence, based on needs.  For example, it will allow the employee to attend police interviews and legal proceedings, seek safe housing, visit legal or financial advisers or support agencies. 

Applying for compassionate & unpaid leave

To apply for compassionate and unpaid leave please use this application form. 

Reasonable time off with pay will be granted for workplace companions to carry out duties connected with the role, i.e. preparing for and attending a disciplinary or grievance hearing. Please follow the link for further details:  Appendix-A-the-Role-of-Companion.pdf

For the purposes of this policy, cosmetic surgery is surgery that is not considered to be medically necessary. The Authority will consider a request for reasonable unpaid time off for an employee to undergo cosmetic surgery. 

Alternatively, employees may prefer to take time from their annual leave entitlement for this purpose. 

An employee who wishes to take time off work for cosmetic surgery must:

• Inform their line manager as soon as their plans to undergo cosmetic surgery have been confirmed.
• Provide a statement from a qualified medical practitioner that cosmetic surgery has been approved and giving the likely duration of recovery.
• In agreement with the line manager, arrange cosmetic surgery at a time that will cause the minimum amount of inconvenience to the Service.
• Give as much notice as possible of the day on which the surgery will take place. 

Where the outcome of the surgery is unexpected and the employee suffers an injury or illness, sick leave and pay provisions will apply in accordance with the Authority’s sickness absence policy. In these circumstances, the correct procedure for reporting and certifying absence must be followed; and a return-to-work interview carried out upon the employee’s return to work.

The right to time off for dependants is the right for employees to take a reasonable amount of unpaid time off during working hours to take action that is necessary. This is to provide assistance on an occasion when a dependant falls ill, gives birth or is injured or assaulted:

•    to make arrangements for the provision of care for a dependant who is ill or injured. 
•    in consequence of the death of a dependant. 
•    because of the unexpected disruption or termination of arrangements for the care of a dependant; or 
•    to deal with an incident involving a child of the employee that occurs unexpectedly during a period when the child is attending school.

Please refer to the following link: Time off for dependants.

It is accepted that we cannot plan for every eventuality, and on occasion disruptions may arise that will affect a significant part of the workforce. The source of the disruption may be internal such as staffing levels; loss of premises, IT failure/ loss of data, utility failure or an external influence such as extreme weather, flooding, fire or explosion, pandemic flu or a transport accident, this list is not exhaustive. 

Where disruption to the workforce occurs, this policy is intended to take precedence over existing employment policies and practice.

In all cases of disruption to working arrangements please refer to the following link:  Disruption to working arrangements policy. Where disruption to the workforce occurs, this policy is intended to take precedence over existing employment policies and practices.

Reasonable unpaid leave may be requested by the employee via the line manger to undergo fertility treatment. Alternatively, employees may prefer to request annual leave or flexitime for this purpose.

This applies equally to an employee whose partner is undergoing fertility treatment. 

An employee who wishes to take time off work for fertility treatment must: 

•    Inform their line manager as soon as their plans to undergo fertility treatment have been confirmed.
•    Produce evidence (e.g. an appointment card) for each occasion on which time off is requested.
•    Try to arrange appointments at times that will cause the minimum amount of inconvenience to the Service.
•    Give as much notice as possible of the days on which time off is required.

The Authority has a Flexible Working Policy which considers requests from employees if they need:

•    A change to the hours they work i.e. a reduction.
•    A change to the times when they are required to work.
•    A change to the place at which they work either in full or in part (specifically home as opposed to workplace).

For further details please refer to the flexible working Policy at the link attached. Flexible working policy.

An employee who requires time off for medical or other treatment relating to gender re-assignment will be treated no less favourably than for time off for illness or other medical appointments as set out in section 5.20 of this Policy and the Sickness Absence Policy.

Reasonable time off with pay to carry out duties connected with role, e.g. to perform functions and for union -approved or employer provided safety training.

Reasonable time off with pay will be given to attend interviews for other positions within the Authority. Employees will be expected to take annual leave to attend interviews with other employers including local authorities; except in times of organisational change where an individual may be ‘at risk’ of redundancy (and has received formal notice to this effect). The employee would need to have one years’ service and in this situation paid time off to attend interviews will be given.

In the event of an employee being called up for jury service, this should be discussed with the line manager at the earliest opportunity. Jury service normally lasts for 10 working days but may be longer. The employee should provide the line manager with a copy of the court summons and any other relevant documentation. 

The employee will continue to be paid while on jury service at the normal rate of pay, subject to the deduction of any monies received from the court in respect of loss of earnings. The employee will receive, with the jury summons, a Certificate of Loss of Earnings or Benefit. The line manager is responsible for ensuring that the employee submits the Certificate of Loss of Earnings or Benefit to the payroll team who will submit to the HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) for reimbursement, up to a limit, for loss of earnings incurred due to the employee being absent from work due to jury service. 

The employee will be paid as normal until the reimbursement has been processed, whereupon the employee is obliged to present payroll with the receipt for the reimbursement. Payroll will then make the appropriate deduction from the employee's pay. If the employee's services are not required for any part or whole court day they will be expected to return to work for the remainder of the working day. If the employee's jury service ends before the expected 10-day period (or such longer period as the court may have indicated to the employee that they will be required for) the employee will be expected to return to work for the remainder of that period.

Employees should provide written notification to their line manager of any dates on which they wish to take time off work for public duties, stating the expected length of their absence. This notification should be provided as far in advance as possible.

Up to 18 days, or 36 half days per annum will be allowable (pro rata for part time employees).

Employees will be paid as normal and will then be required to re-imburse the council with the maximum amount of attendance, or loss of earnings allowance or any other allowance that may be receivable. The employee will need to declare this to their manager so that the relevant deductions can be made.

The occupational maternity scheme applies to all pregnant employees regardless of the number of hours worked per week or their length of service. All pregnant employees are entitled to 52 weeks maternity leave consisting of 39 weeks ordinary maternity leave and 13 weeks additional maternity leave. Please refer to the Authority’s separate maternity leave policy for further details: Maternity pack

Maternity/Adoption Support Leave of 1 week with pay shall be granted to the child’s father or the partner or nominated carer of an expectant mother at or around the time of birth. To qualify for Maternity/Adoption Support leave the employee requesting this time will be the main support for the mother/ primary adopter and/or carer of the child. If the authority knows that the partner, father/ co-adopter intends to take their entitlement to maternity/adoption support leave and/or statutory paternity leave then there will be no need for a ‘nominated carer'. Please refer to the following link for further details: Paternity leave policy

5.21.1 There is no right to paid time off to attend planned doctor, dentist or hospital appointments Employees must try to make appointments outside or at the end of their normal working hours/shift time to minimise any disruption. 

Employees who are participating in the flexitime scheme may request flexitime to attend please refer to the following link for further details:  Flexi time scheme. Employees who are not participating in the flexitime scheme may request time off at the discretion of their manager, may work back the time at a later date or use annual leave to cover the absence. 

5.21.2 Appointments with Occupational Health will be accommodated during working time, wherever possible. Follow up appointments arranged by occupational health such as Cognitive Behavioural therapy (CBT) or physiotherapy will also be accommodated during working time wherever possible.

5.21.3 An employee with a disability (as defined by the Equality Act 2010) may request via the line manager paid time off to be considered for health/medical appointments associated with the management of the particular disability. The manager should consider individual requests in line with the Disability Information and Reasonable Adjustments Guidance’. Please refer to the following link for further details: Disability information and reasonable adjustment 

5.21.4 Any pregnant employee has the right to paid time off to attend ante natal care and must produce evidence of the first appointment if requested to do so by the Line Manager.  Ante-natal care can include not only medical examinations but also relaxation and parent craft classes. If attendance at the appointment is a matter of personal choice for the employee and is not on the advice of a registered medical practitioner, registered midwife or registered nurse, the employee can request unpaid time off/annual leave or flexi-time (if applicable). Carmarthenshire County Council reserves the right to ask employees to re-arrange appointments where it is reasonable to do so.  Employees should wherever possible try to arrange these appointments as near to the start or end of the working day as possible.

5.21.5 Time off for cancer screening e.g. cervical, mammogram and prostate will be with pay and should not be recorded and monitored as sickness absence. Employees should however strive to accommodate such appointments outside working hours.

Up to 18 days or 36 half days per annum (pro rata for part time employees) with pay to enable individuals to undertake those duties arising directly from their membership or office under their council.

• Attendance at meetings of the executive or its committees.

• Performance by a member of the executive of duties for the purpose of discharging the functions of the executive.

Where an employee holds a public office or public position, it is the Authority’s policy to grant a reasonable amount of time off work so that the employee can perform the duties associated with that position. The employee will not be required to make up for any such time off by working additional hours at another time.

Where, however, the amount of time off that the employee requires for public duties becomes excessive, or begins to cause operational difficulties for the Authority, the Authority has the right to refuse the employee further time off in the immediate future. Alternatively, the employee may be permitted to take time off out of his/her annual holiday entitlement for this purpose.

Employees should provide written notification to their line manager of any dates on which they wish to take time off work for public duties, stating the expected length of their absence. This notification should be provided as far in advance as possible.

An employee may continue to be paid at their normal rate of pay during periods of time off for public duties, subject to the deduction of any monies received from the relevant Authority in respect of the duties performed, which the employee must declare to their manager.

Neonatal care leave is designed to assist new parents of babies who are admitted into neonatal care.

In this policy, neonatal care means:

• medical care that your child receives in a hospital.

• medical care that your child receives in any other place providing:

• your child was previously admitted to a hospital as an inpatient and needs continuing care after leaving the hospital.
• the care is under the direction of a consultant; and
• the care involves ongoing monitoring and visits from healthcare professionals arranged by the hospital where your child was an inpatient; or

• palliative or end-of-life care.

Please refer to the Neonatal Care Leave and Pay Policy for more information.

Parental Leave is the right to take 18 weeks unpaid leave for the purpose of caring for a child. Effective from 5th April 2015 legislation has been amended for this entitlement to include any child who is under the age of 18. The 18 weeks unpaid period is the total amount of parental leave that can be taken for a child up until that child is 18. 

The Authority has a separate parental leave policy please refer to the following link: Parental leave policy.

Eligible employees will have the right to take paid leave to care for the child and /or support the mother. Ordinary paternity provides 2 weeks paid leave to employees. Employees may be entitled to additional statutory paternity pay. Please refer to the following link for further details: Paternity Leave Policy.

Employees who hold certain public positions have a right to reasonable unpaid time off during working hours. The provisions cover Justices of the Peace and members of the following public bodies:

•    a statutory tribunal.
•    the Service Authority for the National Crime Agency.
•    a board of prison visitors or a prison visiting committee.
•    a relevant health body.
•    a relevant education body.
•    the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales.

There is no definition in law as to how much time off is reasonable for the purpose of public duties. When considering whether to grant time off, the employer may take into consideration some or all the following factors:

•    how much time off is generally required for the performance of the office in question, and how much time off is required for the performance of the particular duty on the particular occasion.
•    how much time off has already been granted to the employee for public duties.
•    the circumstances of the Authority’s business.
•    the effect of the employee's absence on the running of the Authority's business.

Although there is no statutory entitlement to receive time off, paid or unpaid for religious reasons, annual leave, flexible working hours or unpaid leave can be considered depending on the circumstances and where leave entitlement has been exhausted. Please follow the link to Religion and Belief guidance for further details: Religion and belief guidance.

Reservists may be called up for military operations, with notice typically given 28 days before mobilisation, which are likely to last up to 12 months.

On being called up, the reservist should present their mobilisation papers, typically together with a letter from the Ministry of Defence to the line manager, outlining the date, and possible duration, of their mobilisation. The Ministry of Defence may also contact the Authority independently.

The Authority recognises that, under the Reserve Forces (Safeguard of Employment) Act 1985, if it believes that the employee's absence on military service is likely to do "serious harm" to the organisation, it may apply for an exemption, deferral or revocation of mobilisation. The Authority recognises that the criteria for exemption, deferral or revocation are strict and will seek an exemption, deferral or revocation only in exceptional circumstances.

Reservist employees will not be paid by the authority whilst mobilised as they will be paid Military pay during this time.

Regardless of the length of the military action, the mobilised reservist has the right to be reinstated in their former job within six months of demobilisation.

To exercise the right to be reinstated, the reservist must write to the Authority via the line manager no later than the third Monday after demobilisation confirming their intention to return to work within the following 13 weeks. The initial 13-week period may be renewed by the employee for a further 13 weeks if circumstances such as illness or injury prevent the reservist's return during the initial period. In these circumstances it is the employee’s responsibility to renew this request. However, the reservist forfeits their right to return to work with the Authority if they fail to do so within 26 weeks of demobilisation.

Once the reservist has been reinstated, the Authority will continue to employ them in that same occupation (and on the same terms and conditions) for:

•    52 weeks if the reservist had been employed for a consecutive period of at least 52 weeks at the time s/he was called up for military operations; or 
•    26 weeks if the reservist had been employed for a consecutive period of at least 13 weeks but less than 52 weeks at the time s/he was called for military operations; or
•    a minimum of 13 weeks if the employee was employed for fewer than 13 weeks immediately prior to mobilisation.

Continuity of employment

The continuity of the reservist's period of employment is not broken by a period of mobilisation, if s/he is reinstated to their former employment within six months of demobilisation.

However, when calculating the employee's total period of continuous employment, the Authority will discount the number of days falling in the period between the date on which the reservist is called up for military operations and the day immediately preceding the day on which s/he returns to work.

Up to 10 days paid leave for members of HM Reserve Forces and Cadet Forces Adult Volunteers to undertake their annual training commitments.  All leave requests will be considered subject to service requirements.

Shared Parental Leave (SPL) enables the birth parent to end their maternity leave and pay at a future date, and to share the untaken balance of leave and pay with their partner, or return to work early from maternity leave and opt in to shared parental leave at a later date.
    
Please refer to the following link for further details: Shared Parental leave policy.

An employee may request reasonable time off without pay via their line manager to attend training courses but not for duty shifts as a special constable. Annual leave or flexitime can be requested subject to service requirements.

An employee may request special leave via their line manager for representation of sport, charitable or other events at national level of up to 5 days with pay. Advice must be sought from HR Team before agreeing to these requests.

The Authority is committed to providing support to learners to ensure that they can maximise the potential from a learning event, however this support will differ depending on the type of learning that is undertaken. Please refer to the following link for details of support available for learners: Learning & Development Policy.

Employees who are union representatives of the Trades Unions recognised by the Authority are entitled to reasonable time off during working hours, with pay, to carry out Trade Union duties and training. 
    
The Authority has a facilities agreement which is the framework within which requests for time off are managed. This is to ensure the needs of the service are protected whilst at the same time ensuring that the reasonable needs of Trade Union representatives are recognised and accommodated. Please follow the link for further details. Trade union facilities agreement.

Employees can request unpaid leave for any period up to 12 months (please refer to career break above for periods exceeding 12 months). Requests for unpaid leave should be made to the Director or nominated representative via the attached unpaid leave form and will be managed in accordance with the needs of the service.
    
Refer to section 6 for details relating to how this will impact on the Local government pension scheme.