The government has published a report on the statutory right to time off work for public duties and opened a public consultation on proposed reforms to that right.
For employers, HR teams and in-house employment lawyers, the consultation is an opportunity to influence how any future expansion of these rights should operate in practice.
Current statutory framework
The existing statutory right to time off for public duties gives employees carrying out certain public duties a right to a reasonable amount of time off work. It is not a general volunteering leave entitlement: the review focused on public duties where the individual holds a qualifying office or is a member of a relevant public body.
Report
The Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025) required the government to carry out a review of the list of public duties eligible for time off work. The ERA 2025 expressly required the government to consider if special constables should be eligible for statutory time off.
The aim of the review was to assess whether the list remains fit for purpose and reflects the structure of modern public services. The legislation had not been subject to a comprehensive review since its introduction more than 50 years ago.
The report divides the government’s findings into three sections:
- Local representation and community governance: the report proposes extending the right to certain local and community-focused roles that are currently excluded because the legislation has not kept pace with changes in public service structures.
- Frontline public service delivery: the review identified special constables as a group that should be entitled to reasonable time off work to perform their public duties. It considered that other frontline roles such as police support volunteers, on-call firefighters and reserve forces’ training time either fell outside the current legal framework or are supported through other arrangements, such as statutory support for reservists on mobilisation.
- National public service governance: the report proposes that board members of national public sector organisations, including statutory regulators and national health bodies, should no longer be entitled to time off, as those roles do not align with the legislation’s original community focus.
Consultation
The consultation invites responses on:
- which public duties should be eligible for time off;
- suggested amendments to the current list of public duties eligible for time off; and
- how the entitlement to time off work should operate in practice.
The government proposes adding nine roles to the existing list of eligible roles:
- special constables;
- academy trust members, trustees, chairs of trustees and local committees and local committee governors for academy trusts;
- members of National Landscape Conservation Boards;
- members of corporate joint committees in Wales;
- audit committee members of a further education corporation, sixth-form college corporation or body that operates a designated institution in England or Wales;
- members of the governing body of a designated institution in England or Wales;
- fee-paid judges;
- members of Integration Joint Boards in Scotland; and
- lay panel members of the Judicial Appointments Commission.
In contrast, it proposes removing the following duties from the current list:
- board members of the Environment Agency and Scottish Environment Protection Agency;
- members of the General Teaching Council for Wales (now known as the Education Workforce Council);
- board members of national health bodies; and
- board members of Scottish Water.
What does ‘reasonable time off’ mean for employers?
The proposals would not create an automatic right to unlimited absence or a general volunteering leave right. The existing framework applies to specified public duties, where the employee holds a qualifying office or is a member of a relevant public body, and the entitlement is to a reasonable amount of time off work.
The legislation does not require employers to pay employees for time off for public duties. Employers have discretion to decide whether to continue pay during time off for public duties but should ensure a consistent approach. The consultation does not propose to change this position.
Likely absence levels vary by role. By way of context, special constables generally dedicate around 16 hours per month to their duties, while fee-paid judges dedicate around 30 days per year.
A request is not necessarily determinative simply because the employee carries out an eligible public duty. The consultation acknowledges that employers may be able to decline a request where, for example, absence would cause disruption or where it would be particularly difficult to arrange appropriate cover.
Implications for employers
In proposing these reforms, the government’s stated aim is to support civic participation and access to public duties, while providing greater clarity and certainty for employers when handling absences relating to public duties. There is no timescale as yet for the proposals becoming law.
If the government implements the proposed amendments , employers may experience an increase in statutory leave requests. Employers would then need to review their leave policies to ensure they reflect the amendments to the legislation.
In the meantime, employers might wish to consider:
- whether public duties policies identify qualifying roles and distinguish statutory public duties leave from general volunteering leave;
- whether manager guidance explains how to assess reasonableness, operational disruption and cover difficulties;
- how employees should request time off, what notice or evidence is expected, and whether you may agree alternative arrangements such as different dates or partial time off;
- whether you clearly and consistently record your position on paid and unpaid time off;
- how you document refusals, including the operational reason, any alternatives considered and any impact on cover arrangements; and
- whether records are sufficient to evidence how you manage request in practice, particularly if you intend to respond to the consultation.
The consultation runs until 4 September 2026, with details for submission available on the government’s website (here).
