Other than sickness, employees are liable to take time off from work to attend to emergencies such as:

• An issue in the family i.e. death, assault or sickness
• Looking after their sick children
• Their wife having a baby
• An issue with their child at school

An employee can take the time off with consent from their employer who is liable to grant permission if the 'emergency' is acceptable (such as those given above).

The employee is not liable to for such time off to be paid and is left at the discretion of the employer.

An employer can terminate an employee's time off from work if they believe they have had sufficient time off to deal with the emergency. However, an employer should be certain of their suspicions for abusing time off, as employees can approach a tribunal to claim against the employers demand.

The Employee Relations Act 1999 gives support to employees demanding time off to deal with emergencies.