The employer is bound by law to grant every employee a minimum total of fifteen hours with pay per year as time off on grounds of force majeure for urgent family reasons in cases of sickness or accident making the immediate presence of the employee indispensable. These hours are to be deducted from the annual leave entitlement of the employee.
The circumstances covered by this entitlement include accidents, sudden illness or sickness, births and deaths of immediate family members.
This entitlement is regulated by S.L. 452.88- Urgent Family Leave Regulations.
As from the 4th April 2025, this entitlement will be increased from fifteen hours to thirty -two hours with pay. The first sixteen hours shall be deducted from the annual leave entitlement of the employee whilst the remaining sixteen hours shall be availed of from the annual sick leave entitlement, subject to the availability of the respective balances of the employee.
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