Time off for dependants: Formal request for time off not necessary

Key points

In Truelove v Safeway Stores plc, the EAT holds:

• It is not necessary for a parent or carer faced with an unexpected disruption in arrangements for the care of a dependant, and seeking time off to deal with the emergency, to give reasons to his or her employer with any formality, provided there is communication that imparts an understanding into the mind of the employer that something has happened to make it necessary for the employee to leave work urgently.
• In this case, the employee had fulfilled the requirements of s.57A(2) of the ERA by informing his manager that his baby-sitting arrangements had fallen through at the last minute.