Parental Leave

Entitlement Rights for employees to take parental leave came into force on 15 December 1999. This was a result of the government implementing the provisions of the European Parental Leave Directive.

The main provisions of the Regulations are:
unpaid parental leave of at least 3 months in total for each parent and in relation to each child
a period of 1 year's service is required before qualifying for the right
the right to parental leave only applies to parents of children aged under 5, unless the child receives disability living allowance in which case the right continues until the age of 18
the leave must be taken for the purpose of caring for the child.

Adoptive parents

There are equivalent provisions that apply to adoptive parents, allowing leave to be taken within the 5 year period following adoption, up to the age of 18.

Collective agreements

The Regulations encourage employers and employees and their trade unions to negotiate collective or workforce agreements dealing with the mechanics of parental leave, such as notice requirements and how leave will be taken.

Where no such agreement is negotiated, then a model scheme, set out in the Regulations, will apply.

Model scheme

The model scheme states that leave should be taken in blocks of no less than 1 week, and no more than 4 weeks in 1 year. A minimum of 21 days notice prior to the proposed parental leave is required, with the exception of fathers who want to take leave straight after the baby is born. In this case 21 days notice must be given prior to the expected week of childbirth.

Employee rights

An employee's rights during parental leave are similar to those during additional maternity leave. If an employee takes less than 4 weeks off, they have the right to return to their old job. If more than four weeks are taken, the employee's entitlement to have their job back is similar to the situation that applies to a woman returning from additional maternity leave.

Time off for Dependants

The Employment Relations Act gives employees the right to take time off for 'urgent family reasons'.

The right allows an employee to be permitted by his or her employer to take a reasonable amount of time off work in order to take action which is necessary:
to provide assistance when a dependant falls ill, gives birth or is injured
to make arrangements for the provision of care for a dependant who is ill or injured
in consequence of the death of a dependent
because of the unexpected disruption or termination of care for the dependant
to deal with an incident involving a child of the employee occurring unexpectedly at an educational establishment which the child attends.

Definition of dependant

A dependant is defined as being a spouse, child, parent or person living in the same household (though not an employee, tenant or lodger). It also includes anyone who reasonably relies on the employee for assistance if they fall ill or for the provision of arrangements for care.

There is no definition as to what a 'reasonable amount of time off' means.