Time off for public duties consultation

The Government are seeking views on how the right to time off work for public duties operates in practice, and on proposed changes to the list of public duties eligible for time off under this legislation.

The Government carried out an internal review of the list of public duties eligible for time off work under section 50 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, with consideration of special constables. The review aimed to ensure that the list of eligible duties remained “fit for purpose”. The findings of this review, and proposed changes to the legislation, are set out in the Time off for public duties review report.

This consultation seeks views on those proposed changes. It covers:

• which public duties should be eligible for time off
• proposed additions and removals to the current list of public duties
• how the entitlement works in practice

The proposals contained in the report include adding various public duties to the list eligible for time off work, including special constables, governors for academies and academy trusts and fee-paid judges, amongst others.

The Government is also proposing to remove certain public duties from the list eligible for time off work, including (but not limited to) board members of the Environment Agency and Scottish Environment Protection Agency and board members of national health bodies.

In the consultation, proposals to include the following list of public duties in the list eligible for time off work were rejected:

• armed forces reservists (for training only)
• General Teaching Council for Scotland members
• on-call firefighters.

The consultation closes on the 4th of September

You can respond online, by email, or by post.

Respond online here.