What are the main
changes to parental leave rights?
-
Leave increased
to 18 weeks for parents of disabled
children (previously 13 weeks).
-
Leave extended to
include parents of children who were
under the age of five (under 18 for
disabled children) on 15 December
1999.
-
Leave extended to
include parents of children who were
adopted between 15 December 1994 and
14 December 1999.
What is parental
leave?
Parental leave was
first introduced on 15 December 1999 to
give parents of children born or adopted
on or after that date, the right to take
a period of time off work to look after
a child or make arrangements for the
child’s welfare.
Parents can use it to
spend more time with children and strike
a better balance between their work and
family commitments. The leave is unpaid.
Who can take parental
leave?
Employees who have a
baby or adopt a child on or after 15
December 1999 and who have completed one
year’s qualifying service with their
employer by the time they want to take
the leave.
Employees who had a baby or adopted a
child between 15 December 1994 (15
December 1981 in the case of a disabled
child) and 14 December 1999 and who have
completed one year's continuous service
either with their current employer or a
previous employer during 15 December
1998 and 9 January 2002. Both mothers
and fathers can take parental leave.
How long does parental leave last?
Employees get 13
weeks in total for each child. Parents
of disabled children get 18 weeks in
total.
Employees will be
able to take parental leave in short or
long blocks depending on what has been
agreed where they work.
What happens if an
employee has twins?
Parental leave is for
each child, so if twins are born each
parent will get 13 weeks leave for each
child (18 weeks for parents of each
disabled child).
When does parental
leave have to be taken by?
Employees can choose
to take parental leave any time –
-
Parents of
children born on or after 15
December 1999 can take the leave up
until the child’s fifth birthday.
-
Parents of
children born between 15 December
1994 and 14 December 1999 can take
the leave up to 31 March 2005.
-
In adoption
cases, where the date of placement
is on or after 15 December 1999, for
five years after the child is first
placed with the family for adoption
(or until the child’s 18th birthday
if that comes sooner).
-
Adoptive parents
of children placed for adoption
between 15 December 1994 and 14
December 1999 can take the leave up
until 31 March 2005.
-
In the case of a
child with a disability, born on or
after 15 December 1981, up until the
child’s 18th birthday (for the
purposes of parental leave, a
disabled child is one for whom
disability living allowance has been
awarded).
Will employees be
able to return to the same job after
parental leave?
At the end of
parental leave, an employee is
guaranteed the right to return to the
same job as before if the leave was for
a period of four weeks or less; if it
was for a longer period the employee is
entitled to return to the same job, or,
if that is not reasonably practicable, a
similar job which has the same or better
status, terms and conditions as the old
job.
When parental leave
follows maternity leave, the general
rule is that a woman is entitled to
return to the same job she had before
the leave. If at the end of additional
maternity leave, this would not have
been reasonably practicable, and it is
still not reasonably practicable at the
end of parental leave, she is entitled
to return to a similar job which has the
same or better status, terms and
conditions as the old job.
What procedures have
to be followed before an employee can
take parental leave?
Employers and
employees can agree their own procedures
for taking parental leave. They can do
this by using workforce or collective
agreements or through individual
arrangements. Any of these agreements
will apply to an employee only if it is
part of the employee’s contract of
employment.
What happens if there
is no agreement?
There is a fallback
scheme which will apply automatically
where employers and their employees have
no other agreement operating.
What happens under
the fallback scheme?
Under the fallback
scheme the following provisions will
apply:
-
in most cases,
leave must be taken in blocks or
multiples of one week;
-
the exception to
the above is that parents of
disabled children can take leave in
blocks or multiples of one day;
-
in all cases a
maximum of four weeks’ parental
leave in a year can be taken in
respect of any individual child;
-
21 days’ notice
must be given;
-
the employer can
postpone the leave for up to six
months where the business would be
particularly disrupted if the leave
were taken at the time requested;
-
but leave cannot
be postponed when the employee gives
notice to take it immediately after
the time the child is born or is
placed with the family for adoption.
What is the procedure
for postponing leave under the fallback
scheme?
If an employer
considers that an employee’s absence
would unduly disrupt the business, then
the employer can postpone the leave for
no longer than six months after the
beginning of the period that the
employee originally wanted to start his
or her parental leave. The employer
should discuss the matter with the
employee and confirm the postponement
arrangements in writing no later than
seven days after the employee’s notice
to take leave. The employer’s notice
should state the reason for the
postponement and set out the new dates
of parental leave. The length of the
leave should be equivalent to the
employee’s original request.
Under what
circumstances can an employer postpone
leave in the fallback scheme?
Employers may be
justified in postponing leave when, for
example, the work is at a seasonal peak;
where a significant proportion of the
workforce applies for parental leave at
the same time; or, when the employee’s
role is such that his or her absence at
a particular time would unduly harm the
business.
Can leave be
postponed under the fallback scheme if
an employee wants to take leave
immediately after the birth or adoption
of a child?
When an employee
applies to take parental leave
immediately after the birth or adoption
of a child, then the employer cannot
postpone the leave. The employee needs
to give 21 days’ notice before the
beginning of the expected week of
childbirth (expectant mothers will be
able to provide this information to
their partners). In the case of
adoption, the employee needs to give 21
days’ notice of the expected week of
placement. In rare cases where this is
not possible, an adoptive parent should
give the notice as soon as is reasonably
practicable.
Do employers need to
keep records?
Employers are not
required to keep records of parental
leave taken, although many will want to
do so for their own purposes. When an
employee changes jobs, employers will be
free to make enquiries of a previous
employer or seek a declaration from the
employee about how much parental leave
he or she has taken.
Can employers ask for
evidence that the employee is entitled
to parental leave?
An employer can ask
to see evidence to confirm the employee
is the parent or the person who is
legally responsible for the child;
evidence might take the form of
information contained in the child’s
birth certificate, papers confirming a
child’s adoption or the date of
placement in adoption cases, or in the
case of a disabled child, the award of
disability living allowance for the
child. The employer’s request must be
reasonable; it may not be reasonable for
him to check on the employee’s
entitlement on every occasion on which
leave is asked for.
In cases where the
employee's child was born or adopted
between 15 December 1994 and 14 December
1999 (between 15 December 1981 and 14
December 1999 for disabled children), an
employer can ask to see evidence of
service with a previous employer, where
that period of service is being used in
determining entitlement to parental
leave.
What if an employer
refuses to allow an employee to take
parental leave?
Employees will have
the right to go to an employment
tribunal if the employer prevents or
attempts to prevent them from taking
parental leave. An employee who takes
parental leave will also be protected
from victimisation, including dismissal,
for taking it.
The Interactive
Law Group