Parental Leave Rights

Parental leave offers parents who meet the eligibility criteria the right to take unpaid time off work to look after their child or make arrangements for their welfare.

The criteria that must be met in order for parents to have the right to take parental leave are that they must:

  • have been employed by you for at least a year
  • be an 'employee', with a contract of employment (most agency and casual staff don't have the right to parental leave)
  • be a parent named on the child's birth certificate or be named on the child's adoption certificate or have legal parental responsibility for a child under 5 (18 if disabled)

Both parents have the right to parental leave. If they are separated, the parent who no longer lives with the children only has the right to parental leave if they retain formal parental responsibility for the children. Foster parents do not have rights to parental leave.

If your employee does not qualify for parental leave but needs time off to care for their child, you could offer them the options of:

  • taking paid holiday
  • taking unpaid time off
  • applying for flexible working

Parents may take up to a total of 13 weeks' parental leave for each of their children up until their fifth birthday. If their child is adopted, they can take a total of up to 13 weeks' parental leave until the fifth anniversary of their placement with them or until their 18th birthday, whichever comes first. If the child is disabled (that is, getting disability living allowance) they have the right to take up to 18 weeks' parental leave until their 18th birthday.

Parental leave is an individual right and it cannot be transferred between parents.

If you would like more detailed information about parental leave, Ashby Cohen can help you. We specialise in employment law cases, and our years of experience as employment lawyers make us uniquely qualified to assist you with any parental leave issues you may have. Please contact us for an initial free consultation.

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