MAKE YOUR FREE Parental Leave Policy
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What is a Parental Leave Policy?
Parental Leave Policies inform staff about their statutory parental leave rights. A Parental Leave Policy explains eligible employees’ right to take up to 18 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a child before the child’s 18th birthday and sets out the notification procedures for this leave. For more information, read Parental leave.
This document is GDPR compliant.
When should I use a Parental Leave Policy?
Use this Parental Leave Policy:
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if you run a business and have employees
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to inform staff and managers about the statutory parental leave rules
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to set out any additional entitlements to parental leave (eg pay or extended eligibility)
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if your business is based in England, Wales, or Scotland
Sample Parental Leave Policy
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PARENTAL LEAVE POLICY
Statement of Policy and Purpose of Policy
- (the Employer) recognises and respects that sometimes working parents will need time away from work to spend time with their children. The right for parents to take leave, in certain circumstances, is also provided by law. No one will be subjected to a detriment for exercising their right to take parental leave in accordance with this Policy or for seeking to do so.
- The purpose of this Policy is to ensure that staff and managers are clear about entitlements to parental leave, the process that should be followed for arranging leave and the terms that apply during and after parental leave.
- This Policy is intended to summarise your statutory rights. If there is a contradiction between this Policy and the statutory parental leave entitlements which apply at any time, this Policy shall be deemed to be amended, as necessary, to comply with legislative requirements.
- This is a statement of policy only and does not form part of your contract of employment. We may amend this Policy at any time, in our absolute discretion.
What is Parental Leave?
- Parental leave is the right for qualifying employees to take up to 18 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a child under 18 years of age, for whom they have parental responsibility.
Who is Eligible to Take Parental Leave?
- To be eligible for parental leave you must:
- be an employee (not a contractor or consultant);
- have or expect to have parental responsibility for the child. This means that you must be the biological or adoptive parent or have legal parental responsibility including under a surrogacy arrangement (e.g. you are the child's guardian);
- be taking the leave to care for the child.
When Can Parental Leave Be Taken?
- Eligible employees may take parental leave during the period up to the 18th birthday of their biological child, adopted child or child for which they otherwise have parental responsibility for.
- If you meet the qualifying criteria summarised above then you may take up to four weeks' parental leave in any year (calculated from the date when you became eligible for leave). Leave must be taken in blocks of one week, unless the child is disabled. The total entitlement to parental leave is for each child (or multiple birth) not for each employer, so if you have used some of your parental leave with a previous employer then you will only be entitled to take the unused balance with us.
Giving Notice to Take Parental Leave
- If you wish to take parental leave you must give the 21 days' advance notice and tell us the dates that you wish the leave to start and end. Special rules about notice apply if you wish to take parental leave commencing:
- immediately on the birth of a child. In this case, you must give us notice at least 21 days before the start of the expected week of childbirth. The notice must specify the EWC and how much leave you wish to take;
- immediately on the adoption of a child. In this case, you should give notice at least 21 days before the start of the expected week of placement. If this is not possible, you must give as much notice as you can. The notice must specify the EWP and how much leave you wish to take;
- immediately after a period of ordinary paternity leave. In this case, we request that you give us notice at least 21 days before the start of the EWC or EWP (as applicable), if that is possible. If not, you should give as much notice as you can. Please note that we may not be able to agree to your request unless you give us notice at least seven days before your ordinary paternity leave starts, although we will consider each request on a case-by-case basis.
- In all cases, we would encourage you to give as much notice as possible of your wish to take parental leave, as this will help us plan ahead for your absence and will improve the chances that we can agree to your request. We would also ask that you make your request in writing, although it will still be valid if you don't.
- Before your parental leave starts, you must give us evidence of your current or anticipated parental responsibility for the child, their date of birth or placement with you for adoption and, if relevant, their entitlement to disability living allowance. If you are not sure what evidence you need to give then ask the .
Postponing Parental Leave
- Sometimes, we might need to postpone the parental leave that you wish to take because it would unduly disrupt our business. In this case, we will consult with you about when you could take the leave instead and will confirm our decision within seven days of receiving your notice to take leave, including the reason for delaying your leave and the new start and end dates, which will be no more than six months after the dates you requested.
- We will not postpone parental leave which is requested for the birth of a baby or when a child is placed for adoption, if postponing your leave means that your entitlement has not been used up before the last date when the leave must be taken (i.e. the child's 18th birthday, then you will not lose your entitlement to that leave.
During Parental Leave
- While you are on parental leave, your employment contract remains in effect except for terms relating to pay, which are suspended. This means that, among other things, you must continue to comply with any terms about notice, confidentiality and outside work.
Returning to Work After Parental Leave
- For parental leave of four weeks or less that is not combined with another type of family leave then you will return to the same role. However, if you take more than four weeks of parental leave or take parental leave immediately before or after additional maternity, paternity or adoption leave then you may not be able to return to the same role. In this case, we will offer you another suitable role on terms that are no less favourable than those that would have applied without the parental leave being taken.
- If you give false or misleading information to obtain parental leave then we may treat this as a disciplinary matter.
Data Protection
- The Employer processes personal data collected when managing employees' parental leave in accordance with its Data Protection Policy.
- In particular, data collected as part of the parental leave procedure, and from the point at which an employee informs the Employer that they plan to take parental leave, is held securely and accessed by, and disclosed to, individuals only for the purposes of responding to parental leave requests and managing parental leave.
- Inappropriate access or disclosure of employee data constitutes a data breach and should be reported in accordance with the Employer's Data Protection Policy immediately. It may also constitute a disciplinary offence, which will be dealt with under the Employer's disciplinary procedure.
Attribution
- This Parental Leave Policy was created using a document from Rocket Lawyer (https://www.rocketlawyer.com/gb/en).
About Parental Leave Policies
Learn more about making your Parental Leave Policy
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How to make a Parental Leave Policy
Making your Parental Leave Policy online is simple. Just answer a few questions and Rocket Lawyer will build your document for you. When you have all the information prepared in advance, creating your document is a quick and easy process.
You’ll need the following information:
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What is the employer’s name?
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What is the job title of the person who should be contacted about matters related to parental leave?
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Will employees be paid during parental leave (ie is the employer offering additional benefit, above the statutory entitlement)?
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If so, how much will employees be paid and are there any limits on this entitlement?
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Will employees be eligible for parental leave even if they haven’t worked for the employer for 12 months (ie is the employer offering this benefit to more employees than required by law)?
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Common terms in a Parental Leave Policy
Parental Leave Policies set out employees’ statutory right to and any additional provisions related to parental leave. To do this, this Parental Leave Policy template includes the following terms and sections:
Statement of purpose and Policy
The Policy starts by identifying the business subject to its provisions. It then sets out the reasons why the business is creating the Policy and acknowledges parents’ need and right to sometimes take time off work to care for their children.
The section explains that the Policy is primarily intended to communicate employees’ statutory rights regarding parental leave, except (if included) the term(s) expanding eligibility and/or allowing for paid parental leave. It notes that the Policy itself may be changed by the employer at any time, but the law will prevail if statutory entitlements change.
What is parental leave?
This section sets out what the basic statutory entitlement to parental leave is.
Who is eligible to take parental leave?
This section explains when somebody is eligible for parental leave. You can choose whether or not the 12-month service requirement is included.
When can parental leave be taken?
This section explains when parental leave may be taken, for example, before the child’s 18th birthday and in one-week blocks.
Giving notice to take parental leave
The procedures that employees should follow when wanting to take parental leave are set out here. For example, at least 21 days’ notice should be given and requests should ideally be made in writing.
Postponing parental leave
This section sets out when the employer may postpone an employee’s parental leave. For example, when taking leave at the proposed time would unduly interrupt the employer’s business and not when parental leave is requested for a child’s birth or adoption.
During parental leave
Firstly, this section sets out whether parental leave will be paid or unpaid and, if paid, what the pay provision is (eg 80% of normal pay). The section then explains that most other terms of an employee’s Employment contract (ie except for term(s) on pay) continue to apply, with the rights (eg anti-discrimination rights) and obligations (eg to give notice if resigning) still applicable.
Returning to work after parental leave
This section explains what role an employee will return to when finishing parental leave. This should generally be the same role that they left, unless the employee was on leave for a longer period of time and/or in conjunction with other types of leave (eg paternity leave).
Data protection
This section sets out the employer’s commitment to complying with data protection law when processing (eg handling) employees’ personal data (eg names and addresses) to assess parental leave requests. The employer will, for example, not disclose personal data to other parties.
If you want your Parental Leave Policy to include further or more detailed provisions, you can edit your document. However, if you do this, you may want a lawyer to review the document for you (or to make the changes for you) to make sure that your modified Parental Leave Policy complies with all relevant laws. Use Rocket Lawyer’s Ask a lawyer service for assistance.
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Legal tips for employers
Take a comprehensive approach to leave for parents
UK law provides for many different types of leave that are available to parents (or prospective parents). As an employer, upholding workers’ rights in relation to this leave and otherwise supporting workers through their roles as parents is an important part of being an empathetic as well as legally compliant employer. It’s a good idea to create policies to cover different types of leave, to ensure workers are aware of all of their rights as working parents. For example, consider making:
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an Adoption leave policy - to set out workers’ rights and entitlements when adopting a child
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a Maternity policy - to set out workers’ rights and entitlements when giving birth to a child
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a Paternity policy - to set out workers’ rights and entitlements when, for example, their partner is giving birth to a child or they’re adopting
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a Shared parental leave policy - to explain how a couple may share a leave entitlement when having a child
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a Time off for dependants policy - to set out workers’ right to take time off to deal with emergencies involving dependants, and procedures related to this right
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a Flexible working policy - to communicate employees’ rights to make formal requests for flexible working arrangements to, for example, facilitate childcare commitments
For more information on different types of family leave, read Family leave and rights.
Understand when to seek advice from a lawyer
In some circumstances, it’s good practice to Ask a lawyer for advice to ensure that you’re complying with the law and that you are well protected from risks. You should consider asking for advice if:
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you want to change an existing Parental Leave Policy that is contractually binding
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allegations of discrimination have been made in connection with a parental leave request
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you want to offer staff members additional entitlements to parental leave
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Parental Leave Policy FAQs
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What is included in a Parental Leave Policy?
This Parental Leave Policy template covers:
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a definition of parental leave
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eligibility for parental leave
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when parental leave can be taken
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notification requirements
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the employer's right to postpone parental leave
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rights during parental leave
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whether parental leave will be paid or unpaid
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whether or not eligibility is restricted to employees with 12 months’ service
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returning to work after leave
Note that this Policy is not a Shared parental leave policy (ie a policy used to inform staff about their ability to substitute maternity leave for shared parental leave).
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Do I need a Parental Leave Policy?
There’s no legal requirement to have a Parental Leave Policy in place, but having one can help an employer to comply with employment law by helping them to uphold employees’ statutory right to take unpaid parental leave. Parental leave policies ensure that your staff are well informed about when parental leave can be taken and about how they should go about taking it.
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What is parental leave?
Parental leave (sometimes referred to as ‘unpaid parental leave’) is a statutory right granted to eligible employees by the Employment Rights Act 1996 and the Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999. It allows eligible parents to take up to 18 weeks (pro-rata) of unpaid leave to care for a child before the child’s 18th birthday. This is the minimum statutory entitlement - employers may voluntarily extend it (eg by allowing additional leave to be taken or by extending eligibility).
Employees have additional rights related to this right. For example, they must not be dismissed, subjected to a detriment, or treated less favourably for taking or requesting parental leave.
For more information, read Parental leave.
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Who is eligible to take parental leave?
To be eligible for parental leave, an individual must:
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have parental responsibility for the relevant child. This means that they either:
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are the child's biological parent named on the birth certificate (whether or not living with the child)
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are the child's adoptive parent named on the adoption certificate, or
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otherwise have (or expect to have) parental responsibility for the child (eg a legal guardian)
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have employee status (eg they’re not self-employed or a casual worker), and
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have worked continuously for their current employer for at least 12 months
For more information, read Parental leave.
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How should parental leave be taken?
Parental leave must generally be taken in complete weeks (eg for 1 week or 2 weeks) and up to 4 weeks per year may be taken. An employer may agree to allow more leave within a year or for leave to be taken not in complete weeks. If the child for whom leave is being taken has a disability, leave needs not be taken in complete weeks.
Employees are required to give their employer advance notice of at least 21 days if they intend to take unpaid parental leave. In some instances, the employer may postpone the employee’s notified parental leave. For more information, read Parental leave.
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Who should be a business’ employee contact for parental leave?
When they have questions or concerns about parental leave, employees should contact a person who can be relied on to:
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know or check the legal significance of a parental leave application
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understand and answer other employee queries, and
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take further action when required
This will normally be an HR representative, or if there is none, the person within the business with responsibility for HR matters.
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Do employers need to pay an employee during parental leave?
Parental leave is, under the law, unpaid. Employers have no obligation to pay employees when they take this kind of leave. However, some employers may choose to offer rights over and above what the law requires (eg by paying parents during some or all of their parental leave).
If you do decide to pay employees during parental leave, make sure your descriptions of any parental leave pay arrangements are clear and unambiguous. For example, if you mean to pay employees basic pay only (ie before any benefits), state this clearly. If there are any limits or qualifications, make sure to specify these (eg if 50% of normal basic pay will be paid for up to 2 weeks per year).
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Are the parental leave rules different if a child has a disability?
If a child is in receipt of a Disability Living Allowance, their parents are (assuming they’re eligible) allowed to take parental leave on 'odd' days (ie they don’t have to take parental leave in one-week blocks).
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What happens to an employment contract during parental leave?
An employee’s Employment contract will generally continue as normal during any parental leave taken, except for terms on pay and benefits.
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