Docklands Solicitor

The EU Council of Ministers has adopted a new Parental Leave Directive.

This will affect UK law by increasing the parental leave entitlement.

Parental leave entitles birth and adoptive parents and those with (or expecting to have) parental responsibility for a child to take unpaid leave for the purpose of caring for that child.

EU law currently provides that this entitlement should be at least three months unpaid leave for each child.


In the UK under the Maternity and Parental Leave Regulations 1999, it allows parents satisfying the eligibility criteria (e.g. employee must have one year's continuous service) to take up to thirteen weeks unpaid parental leave for each child. Such leave must be taken before the childs fifth birthday (or 18th birthday, if the child is disabled).  However, employers are entitled to postpone an employee's leave where it considers that its business would be unduly disrupted by taking the parental leave entitlement.

The new Parental Leave Directive requires that entitlement must be increased to at least 4 months per child.

All EU Member states have been given two years to implement this change.

Summary

This change serves as a reminder that parents have a statutory entitlement to take unpaid leave in certain circumstances. This is in addition to statutory maternity, paternity and adoption leave entitlement.

Although the new Directive will not have an immediate impact in the UK, employers and employees should be aware that the Government will be required to introduce new legislation to increasing parental leave entitlement in the next couple of years.

For advice on any employment matters contact Selwan

Labels: employment, legal advice, partental leave