The Offshore Installations (Safety Representatives and Safety Committees) Regulations 1989

Time off

26.—(1) It shall be the duty of the employer of a safety representative to permit him to take such time off from his work on the offshore installation without loss of pay during his working hours as is necessary–

(a)for the purpose of performing his functions as a safety representative, and

(b)to undertake training in accordance with regulation 27 below.

(2) Where a safety representative is permitted to take time off in accordance with paragraph (1) above, his employer shall pay him–

(a)where the safety representative’s remuneration for the work he would ordinarily have been doing during that time does not vary with the amount of work done, as if he had worked at that work for the whole of that time;

(b)where the safety representative’s remuneration for that work varies with the amount of work done, an amount calculated by reference to the average hourly earnings for that work (ascertained in accordance with paragraph (3) below).

(3) The average hourly earnings referred to in paragraph 2(b) above are the average hourly earnings of the safety representative concerned or, if no fair estimate can be made of those earnings, the average hourly earnings for work of that description of persons in comparable employment with the same employer or, if there are no such persons, a figure of average hourly earnings which is reasonable in the circumstances.

(4) Any payment to a safety representative by an employer in respect of a period of time off–

(a)if it is a payment under any contractual obligation, shall go towards discharging the employer’s liability in respect of the same period under paragraph (2) above;

(b)if it is a payment under paragraph (2) above, shall go towards discharging any liability of the employer to pay contractual remuneration in respect of the same period.