Trade union time off when rota and absence software handles it (UK)

Where an employer recognises an independent trade union, the people who represent it at work need time to do so: negotiating with management, consulting on redundancies or a transfer, training, and helping colleagues with learning. Members also have a right to time off for union activities. Rota engines and absence systems that only know holiday, sickness and unpaid leave tend to file this time in the wrong place, dock pay that the law says must be paid, or let a shift pattern decide what is reasonable. This page sets out the rules in Great Britain under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. It is for employees, representatives and employers.

The short answer: officials of a recognised independent union are entitled to reasonable paid time off for their duties and for approved training (s168 and s169). Union learning representatives are entitled to reasonable paid time off for their learning role (s168A). Members are entitled to reasonable time off, which the Act does not require to be paid, for union activities other than industrial action (s170). What is reasonable is judged in the circumstances, having regard to the Acas Code of Practice.

Union officials: duties and training

An employer must permit an employee who is an official of an independent trade union it recognises to take time off during working hours for duties concerned with (s168(1)):

• negotiations with the employer on matters for which the union is recognised for collective bargaining;
• functions on behalf of employees on those matters that the employer has agreed the union may perform;
• receiving information and being consulted on collective redundancies (s188) or under the TUPE Regulations 2006, and negotiating or making certain agreements under TUPE regulation 9.

The employer must also permit time off for training in industrial relations relevant to those duties and approved by the TUC or the official's union (s168(2)). The amount of time, the occasions and any conditions are those that are reasonable in all the circumstances, having regard to the relevant Acas Code of Practice (s168(3)).

Union learning representatives

A member of a recognised independent union who is its learning representative is entitled to reasonable time off to analyse learning or training needs, give information and advice about learning, arrange and promote learning, consult the employer about these activities, and prepare for them (s168A). The right applies once the union has told the employer in writing that the employee is a learning representative and the training condition is met: either the union has notified the employer that the employee is sufficiently trained, or it has given notice in the last six months that the employee will undergo that training (s168A(3) and (4)). Members are entitled to time off to use the learning representative's services (s170(2B)).

Pay for duties and learning time

Time off under sections 168 and 168A must be paid (s169). Where pay does not vary with the amount of work done, the employee is paid as if they had worked the whole time. Where it varies, for example piece rates or commission, pay is based on average hourly earnings for that work (s169(2) and (3)). Contractual pay for the same period counts towards the statutory amount and the other way round (s169(4)). Payroll that treats approved union duties as unpaid absence, or pays only basic rate to someone whose earnings normally vary, is likely to underpay.

Members: union activities

A member of a recognised independent union, in respect of their type of work, is entitled to reasonable time off during working hours to take part in union activities and in activities where they act as a union representative (s170(1)). This does not cover industrial action (s170(2)). The Act does not require this time to be paid. Again, what is reasonable is judged having regard to the Acas Code (s170(3)).

Complaints

An employee can complain to an employment tribunal that the employer failed to permit time off under section 168, 168A or 170, or failed to pay for time off under section 169 (s168(4), s168A(9), s169(5), s170(4)).

Changes under the Employment Rights Act 2025

The Employment Rights Act 2025 amends these sections. It adds a duty on employers, when asked, to provide reasonable accommodation and facilities for union duties and learning work (new s168(3A) and s168A(8A)); puts the burden on the employer to show that the time off requested by an official was not reasonable (new s168(5)); and creates a new right to paid time off for union equality representatives (s168B). As at 1 November 2026, legislation.gov.uk records these changes as in force from 6 January 2026 only for specified purposes, and not yet generally. Employers who plan their systems now will save a second change later, but should not assume the new rights already apply in full.

Practical steps

• Employers: create separate absence types for union duties and training (paid), learning representative time (paid) and member activities (paid or unpaid according to your agreement), all outside sickness, holiday and attendance triggers. Set the pay rule for variable earners to average hourly earnings. Agree how much time is reasonable in a facilities agreement and give a person, not the rota engine, the final say on clashes.
• Representatives and members: ask for time off in writing with the purpose and the time needed, and keep a record. If union activity at an appropriate time leads to lost shifts, lower scores or dismissal, see union membership protection. Check payslips after paid union time. For information officials can request from the employer for negotiations, see disclosure of information for collective bargaining. On wider questions about unions and technology, see AI and unions; for elected representatives where no union is recognised, see employee representatives time off; on other statutory time off, see time off for public duties.

These sections extend to England, Wales and Scotland. This page is general information on the law in Great Britain as at 1 November 2026, not legal advice.