The Volunteers Employment Protection Act provides for Territorial Forces personnel to perform their military duties and training without risking the loss of their employment entitlements.

The employer must be given notice of the upcoming military service and or training. There are obligations on both the employer and employee to document giving notice and responses in writing for the protection of all concerned.

There are rights of appeal available to the employer where the absence of the employee would cause undue hardship to the employer or the business. Similarly the employee has a right to raise a volunteer's leave complaint if they feel they have been unfairly treated.

Protected Voluntary Service
The Act protects employees during military service requiring an absence from their normal employment. It distinguishes between whole-time service, part-time service and operational deployments, providing separate time allocations and notice periods for each.

Whole-time Service
Whole-time service represents periods of continuous training with the Armed Forces, such as initial basic training and officer commissioning courses. Volunteers receive protected service for an aggregate of 3 months of whole-time training in any training year with the Armed Forces.

Part-time Service
Part-time service includes field exercises, weekend and evening training and other special events. This Act provides protection of employment for an aggregate of 3 weeks service in any training year.

Operational Service
Under a situation of national interest there are various entitlements, including 12 months leave without pay from the primary employment.

Granting of Leave
Providing an employee meets any applicable criteria and notice obligations, it is assumed that the employee will be able to take leave from, and return to, the same job.

However, in the case of operational service, there are defences available to employers who can prove that they cannot keep the position open during periods greater than 4 weeks.

The employer must establish that it is not 'reasonably practicable' to put in a temporary replacement because of the key nature of the position or the existence of a redundancy situation. In determining whether a position is 'key' and whether 'temporary replacement is not reasonably practicable due to the key position', each case must be decided on its own merits.

If the employer can prove that the employment cannot be held open due to a key position, the employer is obliged to give the employee preference over other applicants during a period of 26 weeks, beginning with the date on which the leave ends, for any position which is substantially similar to that which the employee previously held.

Pay
The employer is not obliged to pay the employee for any period while on leave. However, time away under this Act does not effect employees' entitlements as provided for under the Holidays Act 2003 and the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987.

Notice Obligations
The Act requires a number of detailed requirements relating to the notification of both employers and employees with regard to issues such as (but not limited to) desire to take leave, acknowledgement of receipt, date of intention to return to work, and right of appeal. Adherence to these periods of notice is necessary in order to obtain the protection detailed in this Act.

Procedures for Complaints
Employers and employees should try to resolve the problem by discussing it with each other. Both parties are responsible for this. Union members can ask their union, and employers can ask their employers' association, to approach the other party for them.

If the problem cannot be resolved by discussion, then parties can attempt to resolve the matter by using the services provided by the Employment Relations Service.