Time off for magistrates

Section 50(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 says that employees have the right to unpaid time off to carry out their duties as magistrates and justices of the peace.

The facts

Mrs Riley-Williams worked for retail group Argos as a regional administrator. When she became a magistrate she received a letter of appointment which said that she would have to serve on the bench for a minimum of 13 days a year, consisting of 26 half- day sessions. She asked the company to agree the time off and was told that it was too much and that some of it would have to be made up out of her holidays. Riley-Williams claimed she had the legal right to the time off and that her employer's actions left her with no alternative but to resign and claim constructive dismissal.

The ruling

The EAT agreed with Riley-Williams. It held that the right to time off for public duties has to be assessed on what a reasonable amount of time off would be to meet the requirements of the office. Since Riley-Williams had been told that 13 days was the minimum then that was the amount of time that it would be reasonable for her employer to concede. Their refusal to do so made her resignation a constructive dismissal.

* Riley-Williams v Argos EAT/811/02