CIVIL SERVANT WORKERS

[musicmummy]

Hi, my daughter is a civil sevant and requires a day of to attend court as a witness. This will be the third time she has been cited for this as here have been problems with the case. Her workplace are allowing her the time off but are insisting she takes it as annual leave like on the past two occasions, Please direct me to the relivant web pages that show this is surely wrong. thanks

[Mamyalynne]

Time off work
If you need to take time off work, you should show your employer your
witness warning letter as proof that you have to go to court.Your
employer does not have to pay you for time off work when you appear as
a witness. But if you do lose pay, you can claim a witness allowance for loss
of earnings (see page 22 for more details about claiming expenses).The
loss-of-earnings payment may be less than your actual loss of earnings.

[Mamyalynne]

http://www.devon-corn...n_court%20booklet.pdf

[chelle7272]

She may be able to get an allowance from the court for lost earnings if she takes the day as unpaid rather than annual leave.
http://www.cps.gov.uk...enses_and_allowances/

[musicmummy]

hi thanks for the replies, yes she has her citation and has asked for an unpaid day already but they say she must take it as annual leave, this will mean she will have used three days of her annual leave that is surely unfair. who should she contact after her manager?

[factor-fiction]

It doesn't sound unreasonable to me. She can ask her manager but I don't think she'll do herself any favours in the long run if she makes too much of an issue.

[cathfromsaron]

i had to attend court and was allowed 'speacial leave' and completed a form similar top compassionate leave!

if not then she should take AL and get a day's pay back, as noted above?

[Prudie]

I'd suggest she checks the Personnel Instructions. If she has been called as a witness I'd expect this should be covered by Special Paid Leave (same as Jury Service is). Having said that her HR/manager should know this, are there other circumstances?

[Flyhalf]

Doesn't she have a Staff Handbook, or other clear statement of terms and conditions? This should spell out in detail what should happen.
If she can't locate one, ask her union rep.
The rules may vary from department to department, but there will be a basic CS framework.
I would have thought as an arm of government, the dept. would be keen to uphold the supremacy of the law, and allow paid time for CRIMINAL cases. Civil cases might be a different kettle of fish.

[askyourgran]

Seems a bit harsh factor, losing three days of your annual leave for court appearances, what if it goes on for a week or two? If the daughter's Department has a Personnel section she should enquire there, they should have a staff handbook with guidance on leave-taking in extenuating circumstances. Otherwise ask to discuss it with her Senior executive Officer (or the equivalent) with the view that she takes unpaid leave and claims it back. It's a few years since I left the Civil Service but Personnel or HR (Human Resources) were the people to contact in such matters.

[factor-fiction]

I don't think it's harsh, askyourgran. If the employer's Ts and Cs allow for it then of course push for it. If they don't then I don't think there is anyone you can complain to who will insist that an employer pays you and counts it as a day's work. Have you looked at claiming expenses? I don't know what type of case it is but this site covers arrangements for expenses and something towards lost earnings
http://www.cps.gov.uk...es/Attachment%201.pdf

[THECORBYLOON]

Which government Department does she work in? There is Special Leave With Pay and there's Special Leave Without Pay, if I mind about it to-morrow, I'll see what all it says at work in ma Dept.

[askyourgran]

As bigjack ^^ says it may depend on the type of case and possibly each Government Department has it's own rules. I would have thought that anyone being a witness in court of law should not be expected to be out of pocket.

[musicmummy]

Hi thanks for all replies. it has been two up till now with another pending occasions for the same court case, it has been put off for various reasons on the days she attended and another date made by the court. she argued her point that any court order to attend superseeds in law, and her HR says they are looking into it, this has went on for seven months so far. If she fails to go to court they can issue a warrant for her, if she goes to court she is being penalized as she is entitled to be paid by the court for loss of earnings and expenses( for the third time) but is being told she must take it as annual leave. ??????

[wolf63]

Since your daughter works as a civil servant there will be rules covering this situation. She should just look it up, then she will know what should happen.

I presume that the court case is not in relation to her job.

[musicmummy]

no its not related and they were made aware of it many months ago

[buildersmate]

The subsistence allowances paid by the CPS are quite low - £4.50p per day exceeding 5 hrs but not exceeding 10 hrs (for an ordinary witness). But extra is paid if overnight is required and also for for travelling costs.
What many employers do is pay salary less the amount claimable by the individual from the courts, but your employer's policy determines whether or not they do this.

[buildersmate]

Oops - misread the document - they also pay up to £67 per day loss of earnings provided it excceds 4 hrs.

[Sooper]

I was a Civil Servant and was summoned to appear in court as a witness and was granted "Special leave" for this appearance, so unless the rules have changed or my department was unique, your daughter shouldnt lose her leave. Might be worth her speaking to a union rep to assist with this if she isnt getting the correct info from the HR bods?