Time off: Employer must be aware of request for time off

An employee cannot complain that he or she has been refused time off for trade union duties unless it is established that a request for time off was made which came to the notice of the employer's appropriate representative, and that they either refused it, ignored it or failed to respond to it, holds the EAT in Ryford Ltd v Drinkwater.

The statutory provisions on time off for trade union duties confer two distinct obligations on employers:

• First, they are required to permit an employee who is an official of an independent trade union which it recognises to take time off during working hours for the purposes of carrying out certain trade union duties.