44.—(1) An employee who is permitted to take time off under regulation 43 is entitled to be paid remuneration by his employer for the time taken off at the appropriate hourly rate.
(2) Chapter 2 of Part 14 of the 1996 Act (a week’s pay) shall apply in relation to this regulation as it applies in relation to section 62 of the 1996 Act.
(3) 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 is taken.
(4) 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 normal 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 sub-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 paragraph (5) as are appropriate in the circumstances.
(5) The considerations referred to in paragraph (4)(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.
(6) A right to any amount under paragraph (1) does not affect any right of an employee in relation to remuneration under his contract of employment.
(7) Any contractual remuneration paid to an employee in respect of a period of time off under regulation 43 goes towards discharging any liability of the employer to pay remuneration under paragraph (1) in respect of that period, and conversely, any payment of remuneration under paragraph (1) in respect of a period goes towards discharging any liability of the employer to pay contractual remuneration in respect of that period.