1. ABOUT THIS POLICY
1.1 This policy summarises the statutory right of employees with at least one year’s continuous service to take up to 18 weeks’ unpaid parental leave in respect of each child.
1.2 This policy only applies to employees and does not apply to Umbrella/PEO workers (who are not employees, and may otherwise be called ‘limb (b) workers’), agency workers, or self-employed contractors.
1.3. This policy does not form part of any employee’s or worker’s contract of employment or engagement and we may amend it at any time.
2. ENTITLEMENT TO PARENTAL LEAVE
2.1 To be eligible for parental leave, you must:
- (a) have at least one year’s continuous employment with us;
- (b) have or expect to have responsibility for a child; and
- (c) be taking the leave to spend time with or otherwise care for the child.
2.2 You have responsibility for a child if you are the biological or adoptive parent or have legal parental responsibility in some other way, for example under a court order.
2.3 Eligible employees are entitled to take up to 18 weeks’ parental leave in relation to each child.
2.4 You must tell us of any parental leave you have taken while working for another employer as this counts towards your 18-week entitlement.
3. TAKING PARENTAL LEAVE
3.1 In most cases, parental leave can only be taken in blocks of a week or a whole number of weeks, and you may not take more than four weeks’ parental leave a year in relation to each child. Parental leave can be taken up to the child’s 18th birthday.
3.2 Special rules apply where your child is disabled, which for these purposes means entitled to a disability living allowance, armed forces independence allowance or personal independence payment. You can take parental leave in respect of that child in blocks of less than one week. However, there is still a limit of 4 weeks a year for each child and 18 weeks in total for each child.
4. NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
4.1 You must notify your line manager of your intention to take parental leave at least 21 days in advance. It would be helpful if you can give this notice in writing. Your notification should include the start and end dates of the requested period of leave.
4.2 If you wish to start parental leave immediately on the birth of a child, you must give notice at least 21 days before the expected week of childbirth.
4.3 If you wish to start parental leave immediately on having a child placed with you for adoption, you should give notice at least 21 days before the expected week of placement, or if this is not possible, give as much notice as you can.
5. EVIDENCE OF ENTITLEMENT
5.1 We may ask to see evidence of:
- (a) your responsibility or expected responsibility for the child such as birth certificate, adoption or matching certificate, parental responsibility agreement or court order.
- (b) the child’s date of birth or date of adoption placement.
6. OUR RIGHT TO POSTPONE PARENTAL LEAVE
6.1 Although we will try to accommodate your request for parental leave, we may postpone your requested leave where it would unduly disrupt our business (for example, if it would leave us short-staffed or unable to complete work on time).
6.2 We will discuss alternative dates with you, and notify you in writing of the reason for postponement and the new start and end dates, within seven days of receiving your request for parental leave.
6.3 We cannot postpone parental leave if you have requested it to start immediately on the birth or adoption of a child.
6.4 We cannot postpone parental leave for more than six months, or beyond the child’s 18th birthday (if sooner).
7. TERMS AND CONDITIONS DURING PARENTAL LEAVE
7.1 Parental leave is unpaid. You will not be entitled to employer pension contributions in respect of the period of leave.
7.2 Your employment contract will remain in force, and holiday entitlement will continue to accrue. You will remain bound by your duties of good faith and confidentiality, and any contractual restrictions on accepting gifts and benefits, or working for another business.
