Parental Leave regulations specify that parental leave applies only for children born after 15th December 1999, the date the regulations came into force. There is no entitlement for parental leave to be paid.
An employee who has completed one year’s service and having or expecting to have parental responsibility for a child (including adopted child) up until the child’s 18th birthday. Those with ‘parental’ responsibility include, parents, foster parents, adopters and guardians. Parental leave applies to each child. Therefore if an employee has twins, they will be entitled to 36 weeks parental leave.
Entitlement to Parental Leave
Parental leave is unpaid. The child must be under 18. The total 18 week’s entitlement is for the entire period, not per year. Parental leave applies to each child not to an individual’s job.
Shared Parental Leave
Shared Parental Leave (SPL) enables eligible parents to choose how to share the care of their child/children during the first year of birth or adoption for those due to be born or placed for adoption on or after 5 April 2015. The purpose is to give parents more flexibility in considering how to best care for, and bond with their child.
Parental policy (PDF, 592KB)