Parental leave is often used as a loose term to cover a wide range of family-friendly employment rights. However it has a specific legal meaning.
A parent, or someone with caring responsibility for a child, can seek a period of parental leave from their employer. The rights apply to adoptive parents too. Parental leave is unpaid leave (unless the employer allows for paid leave) and its purpose must be the care of the child.
Parents have the right to take up to 18 weeks parental leave before their child’s 5th birthday, or fifth anniversary of adoption. Parents of disabled children may take the leave up to their child’s 18th birthday.
The employee must give proper notice of the request. An employer can postpone the request for up to six months on business grounds.
Employees can take up to four weeks per year out of the 18 week entitlement as parental leave unless their employer agrees a longer period.
Example:
Dave, who has been working for his employer for a year, is aware that his son is starting school at age 4 in September and believes that he will need time to settle in. Dave requests that his employer grants him unpaid parental leave of 4 weeks so that he can take his son to school each day over this period.
As to parental leave generally, see our fact sheet here.
Published in… Updates: For employers: Family rights and flexible working | Holiday and working time | For employees: Family rights and flexible working | Holiday |
Other employment law terms
- ACAS Early Conciliation
- Adoption appointments
- Adoption leave
- Alternative dispute resolution
- Ante-natal care
- Apprenticeship
- Basic award
- Calderbank offer
- Collective consultation
- Compensatory award
- Compromise agreement
- Constructive dismissal
- Contract of employment
- Disciplinary hearing
- Discrimination
- Employee shareholder
- Employment tribunal
- ETO reason
- Flexible working requests
- Grievance
- Gross misconduct
- Harassment
- Industrial action
- Injury to feelings
- Maternity and parental rights
- Maternity leave
- Maternity pay
- Mediation
- Paternity leave and pay
- Polkey deduction
- Pre-termination negotiations
- Protected characteristics
- Redundancy
- Restrictive covenants
- Settlement agreement
- Shared parental leave
- Staff handbook
- Statutory annual leave
- Strikes
- Study and training rights
- Summary dismissal
- Sunday working
- Trade union
- TUPE
- Unfair dismissal
- Unlawful deductions
- Victimisation
- Whistle-blowing
- Without prejudice
- Working Time Regulations
- Written particulars
- Wrongful dismissal
- Zero hours contracts