When faced with redundancy, it’s likely that employees will be taking active steps to look for a new job opportunity. This could involve considerable time spent updating CVs, contacting recruitment agencies, completing application forms and attending job interviews, which may need to be done during working hours.

As an employer, you will no doubt want to support employees in taking positive steps towards finding a new career, but how flexible do you need to be? What does the law say about giving staff time off to job hunt, and should this time be paid?

The legal stance

The law gives employees the right to take reasonable time off during working hours to look for a new job or arrange training to help them find another job.

This applies to employees who have been given notice of dismissal by reason of redundancy and who have at least two continuous years’ service by the date their notice expires.

What counts as ‘Reasonableness’?

While the law entitles employees to reasonable time off, it doesn’t actually provide a definition of what ‘reasonable’ means. What’s considered a reasonable amount of time off will depend on the individual circumstances of each case.

Receiving requests for time off work

In an ideal world, employees will give you advance notice and provide details about how they intend to use the time off, however this this might not always be possible, for example if they are offered a last-minute interview.

Again, whether you grant time off at short notice will come down to the question of reasonableness. To avoid issues, it’s best to set out your stall ahead of time – letting staff know that you will try to be as accommodating as possible and that the more notice they give you, the more likely you are to be able to grant their request.

Pay entitlement

No matter how much time off you are willing to give the employee, usually, the maximum an employer is required to pay an employee is 40% of one week’s pay.

For example, if an employee works five days a week, then they would be entitled to full pay for any amount of time off, up to two days. For any further time off after that, there is no entitlement to pay and the employee will need to take unpaid leave or use holiday to cover it.

Of course, you may wish to be more generous and there may already be a contractual agreement in place which specifies more generous payments, so be sure to seek advice before limiting this.

Can you refuse to give employees time off?

As an employer, you cannot unreasonably refuse to give employees time off. If you do, or you refuse to pay the employee for this time, they can bring a claim against you in an Employment Tribunal. In this scenario, the Tribunal will consider the needs of the employer and the interest of the employee to find work. In deciding whether the employee was given ‘reasonable’ time off to job hunt, it will take in to account:

• The effect that the absence would have had on the business;
• The duration of the employee’s notice period;
• How much notice the employee gave of their intention to take time off; and
• How hard it will be/was for the employee to find another job.

It’s important that employers should therefore keep all of these factors in mind when deciding whether to grant time off.

If you have a well-founded suspicion that the employee is being dishonest about the true purposes of the time off, it may be reasonable to refuse the request. However, it’s always best to seek legal advice from before doing this.

Other ways to help

Being flexible around time off to job hunt is just one way you might be able to support staff in taking their next step.

If redundancy is confirmed, do what you can to help employees find their next role, from talking through their options with them to putting them in touch with contacts who can help with their job search.

You may be able to suggest possible new career paths that they haven’t previously considered by highlight the employee’s key transferrable skills. You could also consider offering outplacement support, including one-to-one assistance with CV writing and interview practice. Our sister company, WorkNest can offer a range of outplacement support if needed.

Considering all of these points will help to ensure those who are being made redundant continue to be value-adding members of staff while they work their notice and should help to leave a positive lasting impression of their employment with you.