Q: What kind of leave should we grant an employee who has been summoned to appear in court?

A: Ordinarily, employees are not entitled to be paid to attend court (there is an entitlement to paid jury service leave, however).

The employee should be directed to make a request to take annual leave. An employee is entitled to make a request to take annual leave and an employer should not unreasonably withhold its consent to such a request. Given that the employee is required to attend court, it is likely that any refusal to grant annual leave would be considered by a court to be unreasonable. If the employee does not wish to take annual leave but wishes to be granted leave or does not have sufficient accrued annual leave, then the employee could be granted unpaid leave. Remember, leave to attend court is not personal leave.

Please note: The answer is correct at the time of publishing. Be aware that laws may change over time.