Must we hold a job open over a long leave without pay period?
Q: An employee has requested to take a period of leave without pay for 12 months for personal reasons not linked to any statutory entitlements. Are we required to hold the employee’s position open for them for 12 months? If there is no suitable role available after the leave, would redundancy become payable? Can the terms of the leave without pay period agreement stipulate that best endeavours will be undertaken to identify a role, however a role is not guaranteed and should a suitable role not be available at the end of the leave period that redundancy would not apply?
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