Member

Furthermore, the noble Lords, Lord Hogan-Howe and Lord Paddick, have done a great service to this House by highlighting a broader question about the duties that employers are able to request in terms of unpaid time off work under Section 50 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The list of qualifying public duties was introduced almost 50 years ago, with only minor changes made since then. It has not been comprehensively reviewed, despite significant changes in the public service landscape. To pick up on the comments of my noble friend Lord Harris of Haringey, we must consider the wider context of the changing and evolving role of public duties in terms of civic defence and other activity.