Carte blanche the off-duty employee has? (4,4)
I believe the answer is:
free hand
'carte blanche' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'off-duty employee has?' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'employee' could be 'hand' (hand is a kind of employee) and 'hand' is present in the answer.
'off duty' could be 'free' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'free' is present in the answer.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'the' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for free hand that I've seen before include "Style of drawing - carte blanche (8;4,4)" , "Power to organise as one chooses" , "Authority" , "Drawn without aids" , "Done without mechanical aid or device" .)