Parental Leave

Employees with parental responsibility for children who were born or adopted between 15 December 1994 and 14 December 1999 now have the right to parental leave, according to new rules set out in The Maternity and Parental Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2001. The Government's intention to amend the original rules was explained in issue 212 of Payroll Briefing. Parents who now qualify must take their 13-weeks entitlement within a period of three and a quarter years, ending 31 March 2005.

A further change is that the period of parental leave for parents with a disabled child, i.e. a child entitled to disability living allowance, has been increased from 13 weeks to 18 weeks. It may be taken in single days up to the child's eighteenth birthday.

In the case of a child that was born or placed for adoption between 15 December 1994 and 14 December 1999, the full entitlement to parental leave must be taken by

• 31 March 2005
• the child's eighteenth birthday, if disabled
• a date not later than six months after the above anniversaries, where the employer has postponed the parental leave.

In the case of a child that was born or placed for adoption on or after 15 December 1999, the leave must be taken by

• the child's fifth birthday
• the child's eighteenth birthday, if disabled
• the earlier of the fifth anniversary of the child's placement for adoption with the employee and the child's eighteenth birthday
• a date not later than six months after the above anniversaries, where the employer has postponed the parental leave.

For the benefit of employees who now work for a different employer than they did in December 1999, a special rule has been introduced that waives the one-year service requirement with the current employer - but only in this special situation. In the case of a child born or placed for adoption between 15 December 1994 and 14 December 1999, employees are treated as having one year's continuous service with their current employer if they were employed by the current employer on 9 January 2002 and had at least one year's continuous service with another employer at any time during the period 15 December 1998 to 9 January 2002. If the current employer requires it, the employee must provide satisfactory evidence of having the necessary length of service with the earlier employer.

The new rules took effect on 10 January 2002.

Further details about qualifying for parental leave, including the circumstances in which the employer may postpone it and the meaning of "parental responsibility", are given in Payroll Handbook.
Payroll Briefing 221 - 12 April 2002

Parental leave

Following a period of consultation, the Government has announced its intention to improve certain features of the parental leave rights set out in the Employment Rights Act 1996 and the Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999. The default rules for parental leave as defined in the Regulations became a part of every employee's terms and conditions from 15 December 1999.

Unless the right to parental leave has been improved by collective or workforce agreements, employees may take up to 13 weeks leave, in whole weeks, in the period up to a child's fifth birthday. If the child is disabled, the leave may be taken in individual days up to the child's eighteenth birthday. However, entitlement to parental leave does not apply in respect of children born before 15 December 1999. This restriction was challenged by the TUC and was subsequently referred to the European Court of Justice.

In anticipation of an unfavourable decision by the ECJ, the Government has decided to remove the restriction and allow parents with children born or placed for adoption between 15 December 1994 and 14 December 1999 to take parental leave. As the default rules allow no more than four weeks of parental leave to be taken each year, those parents affected will be given 3 years and 3 months to take their 13 weeks entitlement, starting with the date on which the changed rules come into effect.

At the same time, the 13-week limit will be raised to 18 weeks for disabled children only. Parental leave will continue to be an unpaid statutory benefit. - Payroll Briefing 212 - 8 November 2001

Parental Leave

The parental leave provisions became a part of the employment contracts of all employees on 15 December 1999. The legislation defines a set of statutory rules, supplemented by a further set of default rules that may be amended and improved by collective or workforce agreements. Employers need to consider the way in which they will make these entitlements known to their workforce, perhaps by providing a new document for employees to attach to their contracts. Even if this is not done, the statutory and default rules still form a part of every employment contract.

The legislation does not require parental leave to be paid. The statutory rules are as follows:

• Employees are entitled to parental leave if
• they have one year's continuous service,
• they have responsibility for a child,
• the child was born or adopted on or after 15 December 1999, and
• the purpose of the leave is to care for the child.
• Entitlement is to 13 weeks' leave for each child, even if taken with more than one employer. It must be taken by
• the child's fifth birthday
• if disabled, the child's eighteenth birthday
• if adopted, the earlier of the fifth anniversary of the adoption and the child's eighteenth birthday.
• If the child is disabled, the leave may be taken in minimum periods of one day.
• Only a limited number of contractual terms continue in force during parental leave. They are identical to those listed for additional maternity leave above.
• If the period of leave is four weeks or less and the leave is not taken immediately after AML, employees return to their original jobs. If longer than four weeks, or if taken immediately after AML, and the original job is not available, the employee must be given another suitable and appropriate job to do, with equivalent pay, terms and conditions and seniority rights.

The default rules are as follows:

• Employees must, if required, provide evidence
• that they have responsibility for the child
• of the child's age or date of adoption
• of disablement, if relevant.
• Employees must give 21 days' notice of taking parental leave. If a father wishes to take leave from the birth of a child, the employer must allow it, as long as 21 days' notice before the EWC is given.
• The employer may postpone the leave if he considers that the business would be "unduly disrupted" by the employee's absence and, within seven days of receiving the request, confirms in writing the reason for the postponement and specifies agreed alternative dates for the leave that are not more than six months beyond the dates requested.
• Parental leave may not be taken in periods of less than one week (unless the child is disabled).
• No more than four weeks' leave may be taken in a year period starting on the date on which the employee first becomes entitled to parental leave with the employer, or its anniversary.

Although the Regulations do not specify the records that must be kept, employers should record the name of the child, its date of birth, and each absence taken, along with copies of birth certificates and postponement notices.
Extract from an article that appeared originally in Payroll Briefing 172 - 2 February 2000