Need a day off work but they are refusing

[Treeforme]

I wondered if anyone could help.

I need a few hours off work shortly due to disabilities within the family. However I am being refused this leave. I have asked for it to be annual leave , parental, carers, unpaid making up my hours. But it is being denied, due to being too busy. However when I have offered reasonable solutions it’s still been refused.

Could anyone advise?

If you have enough time to give notice you have the right to take unpaid carers leave. If not then take unpaid leave for emergency.

3 days notice needed for half day. Regulations introduced April 2024. Most employers are totally unaware.

What does your contract / leave policy saying about taking time off say? Is your role customer facing and your absence leave the company without cover for that period?

I can take emergency leave/ make time up / flex hours... My role is not customer facing and flexible working is written into my contract.

If you work in a cafe and it leaves them no other option than to shut up shop for the day then I can see why it is a problem.

How is your role managed eg who fills in if you are not able to attend work?

If you can do your tasks the evening before or early that morning exactly why is your manager objecting to you moving your work flow around?

If you took the job and discussed your personal /domestic need to have a flexable work place and were given assurances that the role would be able to be flexable enough to meet your requirements they are acting in bad faith.
If you assumed they would be flexable but you now find out they are not they are doing nothing wrong.
If the manager is being inflexable around the timing of when your tasks are done you need to go above the manager and see if the more senior person will over rule your managers decision.

At the end of the day you need to make a call on which is more important the appointment or the job.

Eg if you stay late/ turn up early and finish your tasks can they justify sacking you.

This could be indirect discrimination to the protected characteristic of disability on the Equality Act. Indirect because you are not disabled but are caring for someone who is.

check your contract, terms and conditions, do other people genuinely get time off in similar circumstances?

call ACAS perhaps or a relevant disability charity to see if they have any advice.

Take the time you need and make up for it later, but I'd be looking for a new job in the meantime. What are they going to do? Show up at your house? Call the police. Some management are cruising for a smack upside the back of the head with the attitudes they put on these days.

Hopefully it doesn't get to that.

OP I’ve skimmed the post but what relation is the person to you - are they classed as a dependent to you?

Basically can this be classed as emergency dependents leave? If so, provided you have given reasonable notice of the required time needed off work, they legally have to allow you have to have this time off. Whether they choose to pay you is up to them though and what is in your contract.

If it is however something like a pre-planned appointment this cannot be classed as emergency leave and they don’t have to allow you to have the time off or indeed pay you for the time off.

I think either way I would reiterate it all in an email to them.

Carers leave if only for dependents - OP has just said a disability in the family - we don’t know if this person is a dependent so there may not be a right to carers leave

A dependent is someone who reasonably depends on you for care. It could be a child, parent or even next door neighbour if that is the arrangement you have with them and it's reasonable.
It sounds very much as if this person depends on the OP if there's nobody else who can help so very likely to be a dependent for the purposes of Carers Leave.

And as the OP has already tried asking for parental and carers leave I think it's a fair guess that the family member is in fact a dependent.

Op you have the right. You can just tell them you need to take carers leave. They have the right to ask you to move it to a better time but not to deny it.

Well it's not an emergency if you're attempting to book it, so it sounds like an appointment or something.

Are they saying you can never have time off, or that you need to give more notice? If the later then sadly it may need to be re-arranged. I know that can be easier said than done with medical appointments, but clearly they are not being flexible, and it's not an emergency.

True, it could be anything from a severely disabled child to a second cousin with a gammy leg!
OP doesnt have to explain circumstances obvs, but the answer to management would probably make a big difference!

Can you ask for just the hours needed ? Rather than a full day?

A bit too obvious that being sick on the day you asked to have off?

Gross misconduct springs to mind if your manager wants to get awkward about it.

Something which you may find useful to think about - why are you the person needed to help the disabled person access an appointment? Is it fair that you jeopardise your job for it? Are you saving someone else money , or someone else's ‘important job’?

If it’s totally fair and it’s your turn, fine. But sometimes people pressure you about something that’s really unreasonable. Sometimes there are solutions that don’t require you to take time off.

If it’s genuinely unavoidable then you may need to look for a different job.

Carers leave is specifically NOT for emergencies (because there is already the right to take unpaid leave for emergencies). It is a new legal regulation for exactly this type of situation (appointments for dependent that can't be moved) .
You must give 3 day's advance notice if you'll need half a day to take dependent to their appointment.

How much notice have you given them? What happens any other time you need time off?

If you've given them notice and don't call in sick too much generally, I would just tell them sorry that you need to take it. And then just take the day off. They'll get over it. You have a valid reason. That is unless you take days off regularly but if you don't, ya, they'll just have to deal with it

Are they making a stand because you often have to take time off for your relative?
What impact does it have for your section if there isn’t a member of staff there?
It’s quite hard to decide without more detail.

OP, I presume that the leave needs to be taken at a particular time because it involves a medical appointment or something similar that cannot be moved?

From what you've said, it doesn't sound as if your absence during that period would cause significant disruption for your employer. Did you put in a formal request for carer's leave? If so, they should have given you a clear reason for refusing and suggested alternative dates when you could take the leave (not that alternative dates would help you by the seem of things!). Did they provide a clear reason for refusing?

Also, have you already taken carer's leave up to the statutory entitlement?

Nobody is indispensable, and if your employer has allowed that situation to happen, then more fool them. It isn't your responsiblility to ensure that their business runs smoothly, it's theirs.

Sometimes the answer to emergency leave is no and they have told you because they can't cover you. I'm sure they are not "targeting you", they just can't accommodate your request this time. You could not show up anyway but expect to be disciplined. Only you can decide if your emergency is really an emergency or there is somebody else who can help. I wouldn't risk your job if you can help it.

What do you mean by “disabilities in the family” and why do you need the time off?

Give us a clue or two to help you.

What is your normal leave request process?
What is the 'disability in the family' issue?