Equivalent of USA Advance Parole??

It's been four months since we arrived in the UK and I was thinking it was time for a weekend break - possbly France but it occurred to me though that whenever I wanted to leave the US (before I had my green card) I had to apply for advance parole to enable me to re-enter the US.  

This then had me thinking ... does my husband have to apply for something similar from the UK?  I'd hate to go away for a lovely weekend and then have problems when re-entering the UK ..

He shouldn't need to if he has a visa which allows him to live in the UK. What is his immigration status?