This will be the hours you want your personal assistant to work. It is also an opportunity to say what the process is if your personal assistant is going to be late or is unable to turn upf or work. You must not ask your personal assistants to work an average of more than 48hours per week, unless they have given their voluntary consent to opt-out in writing. An employee can cancel the opt-out agreement at any time by giving seven days notice.
Your personal assistant is allowed to have regular rest periods. This is in addition to any holiday entitlement. This means your personal assistant is allowed:
- a minimum of 11 consecutive hours’ (11 hours in a row) rest in any 24-hour period
- a minimum 20 minute rest break if their working day is longer than six hours
- a minimum of one day off each week, that is one day off out of every seven.
For young people (under 18) the maximum working week is 40 hours, other than in exceptional circumstances. These hours may not be averaged out and there is no opt-out available. If you employ someone in this age group you must also give them a break of 30 minutes every four and a half hours worked.
You must also allow ‘reasonable’ paid time off to your personal assistants for such things as:
- attending ante-natal appointments
- training.
For some things you must allow your personal assistant unpaid time off. This includes family emergencies, and time to perform public duties like jury service or acting as a school governor.
If your personal assistant asks to work flexibly, you must consider this if they have worked for you continuously for at least 26 weeks.
You have a legal responsibility to consider any request, but do have the flexibility to refuse requests on reasonable grounds. If you agree to a request the details should be changed in your personal assistant’s contract of employment. Only one request can be made every 12 months. Toolkit Before your personal assistant starts