After the section 63A inserted in the M1Employment Rights Act 1996 by section 32 there shall be inserted—
(1)An employee who is permitted to take time off under section 63A is entitled to be paid remuneration by his employer for the time taken off at the appropriate hourly rate.
(2)The appropriate hourly rate, in relation to an employee, is the amount of one week’s pay divided by the number of normal working hours in a week for that employee when employed under the contract of employment in force on the day when the time off is taken.
(3)But where the number of normal working hours differs from week to week or over a longer period, the amount of one week’s pay shall be divided instead by—
(a)the average number of normal working hours calculated by dividing by twelve the total number of the employee’s working hours during the period of twelve weeks ending with the last complete week before the day on which the time off is taken, or
(b)where the employee has not been employed for a sufficient period to enable the calculation to be made under paragraph (a), a number which fairly represents the number of normal working hours in a week having regard to such of the considerations specified in subsection (4) as are appropriate in the circumstances.
(4)The considerations referred to in subsection (3)(b) are—
(a)the average number of normal working hours in a week which the employee could expect in accordance with the terms of his contract, and
(b)the average number of normal working hours of other employees engaged in relevant comparable employment with the same employer.
(5)A right to any amount under subsection (1) does not affect any right of an employee in relation to remuneration under his contract of employment (“contractual remuneration”).
(6)Any contractual remuneration paid to an employee in respect of a period of time off under section 63A goes towards discharging any liability of the employer to pay remuneration under subsection (1) in respect of that period; and, conversely, any payment of remuneration under subsection (1) in respect of a period goes towards discharging any liability of the employer to pay contractual remuneration in respect of that period.
(1)An employee may present a complaint to an employment tribunal that—
(a)his employer, or the principal referred to in subsection (3) of section 63A, has unreasonably refused to permit him to take time off as required by that section, or
(b)his employer has failed to pay the whole or any part of any amount to which the employee is entitled under section 63B.
(2)An employment tribunal shall not consider a complaint under this section unless it is presented—
(a)before the end of the period of three months beginning with the day on which the time off was taken or on which it is alleged the time off should have been permitted, or
(b)within such further period as the tribunal considers reasonable in a case where it is satisfied that it was not reasonably practicable for the complaint to be presented before the end of that period of three months.
(3)Where an employment tribunal finds a complaint under this section well-founded, the tribunal shall make a declaration to that effect.
(4)If the complaint is that the employer or the principal has unreasonably refused to permit the employee to take time off, the tribunal shall also order the employer or the principal, as the case may be, to pay to the employee an amount equal to the remuneration to which he would have been entitled under section 63B if the employer or the principal had not refused.
(5)If the complaint is that the employer has failed to pay the employee the whole or part of any amount to which he is entitled under section 63B, the tribunal shall also order the employer to pay to the employee the amount which it finds due to him.”
Marginal Citations