Dependants leave

[Guest]

My husband is only allowed a certain amount of sick leave a year (only ssp given) if he is to go over this amount, his firm claim back from him all the bank holidays that have been paid throughout the year and do not pay for any future bank holidays. However my husband had to take time off to look after our 3 children earlier this year as I was admitted to hospital as and everyone was in isolation nobody could help take care of the children. My husbands firm has classed this as sick leave therefore taking my husband over the set days allowed. His boss has said he will only retract of we can find proof this is illegal to put as sick. Can anyone help? (also he had to take 5 days off waiting for covid test results as required by law and this has been included too)

[ULA]

If your husband needed to have time off to look after the children whilst you were in hospital this should be taken either as paid or unpaid leave. Your husband was not sick therefore it cannot be classed as sick leave.

If your husband has worked for the company for more than a year then it may be classified as parental leave although technically, he would have needed to apply for this 21 days in advance of the time he needed to take off. If there was not that amount of notice available and it was an unexpected event or emergency, then an employee is entitled to time off work to help take care of someone who depends (dependents) on them, in this case your children. There's no statutory right to pay for this time off and is therefore unpaid, unless the company has a policy covering this type of leave that gives an element of paid time off or he can ask for it to be paid holiday.

On the COVID issue was your husband waiting for test results because he was suspected of having COVID?