Parental Leave: An Overview

Over the next three weeks we will be releasing a series of articles looking at parental leave and recent calls for reform in the UK. This week we take a look at the forms of parental leave that are available to employees and how they work.

Maternity leave

A parent has the right to up to 52 weeks’ maternity leave if they are having a baby and are legally classed as an employee. They have this right from their first day of starting a job. By law, they must take at least 2 weeks off after their baby is born (4 weeks if they work in a factory). After this, how many of the 52 weeks they take is up to them.

Shared parental leave

If a parent has a partner, they might be able to use shared parental leave. This means they would end their maternity leave early and what’s left of their entitlement can be used more flexibly between them and their partner.

Shared parental leave gives more choice in how two parents can care for their child. Eligible parents who are sharing responsibility for a child can get shared parental leave in the first year after:

·       the birth of their child

·       adopting a child

·       getting a parental order if they had the child through surrogacy

Eligible parents can get up to 50 weeks of shared parental leave. How much shared parental leave eligible parents get depends on how much:

·       maternity leave the birth parent has taken

·       adoption leave the primary adopter has taken

The birth parent or primary adopter can take up to 52 weeks of statutory maternity or adoption leave. They must take a minimum of 2 weeks’ leave after the birth or adoption. After this they can end their leave so the remaining can be shared between the 2 parents. This leaves up to 50 weeks of leave to be shared.

Ordinary parental leave

Parents in the UK are entitled to unpaid time off work to care for their children under a scheme known as ordinary parental leave, or unpaid parental leave. This is separate from other types of leave such as maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental leave, neonatal care leave, and statutory holiday leave.

While ordinary parental leave is typically unpaid, some employers may choose to offer pay. Any such arrangement should be clearly stated in the employee’s contract.

Parents may take unpaid leave for a variety of reasons, including:

• Caring for their child when regular childcare is unavailable and the leave can be planned in advance
• Spending extra time with their child
• Looking after them during school holidays
• Caring for them when they are off school due to illness
• Attending school events or open days
• Helping them settle into new childcare arrangements
• Travelling to visit grandparents or other relatives

To qualify for parental leave, a parent must:

• Be legally classed as an employee
• Have worked for their employer for at least one year
• Have parental responsibility for the child

Employers cannot deny or cancel a request for parental leave outright, but they may postpone it if it would cause significant disruption to the business—for instance, during a particularly busy period. It is against the law to dismiss or penalise an employee for requesting or taking parental leave.

Stay tuned for next week’s newsletter as we take a look at recent calls from academics, charities and trade unions urging the government to launch a review of the current parental leave system.