head head head

parental leave

Parental leave is a right for both mothers and fathers to take time off work to look after a child or to make arrangements for the welfare of a child. The law provides a basic right for parental leave, which employers can then improve on. Many good employers will negotiate a better agreement with their staff than that laid down in the law. These negotiations will take place either with a recognised trade union or, in nonunionised workplaces, with representatives who deal with these issues. In workplaces which have these agreements, parental leave rights will be different (and may be better) so you should not rely on the scheme working exactly the same way as described here.

  • What is parental leave?  more...
  • I am an adoptive parent. What are my leave entitlements?  more...
  • I am the parent of a disabled child. What are my rights to parental leave?  more...
  • Who counts as a ‘parent’ in order to be able to take parental leave?  more...
  • Can my employer make me produce evidence of being a parent in order to take parental leave?  more...
  • Does my paternity leave or extra maternity leave count toward parental leave?  more...
  • What if my employer tries to prevent me taking parental leave, or dismisses or disadvantages me for it?  more...
  • Should my parental leave be paid leave?  more...
  • Doesn't parental leave only apply to childen born after 15 December 1999?  more...
  • Can my employer postpone my parental leave?  more...
  • what happens to my conditions of service when I’m on parental leave?  more...

further information

Time off for families: Know your rights leaflet

workSMART Know Your Rights

Download our Know Your Rights leaflet "Time off for families" as a .pdf file

(you will need Adobe Acrobat to view this file, click here for free downloads of this software)