Parental leave rules extended

Parents of disabled children get 18 weeks' unpaid leave

Thousands more couples can benefit from 13 weeks' unpaid leave, from 10 January this year.

The news will affect 336,000 couples following the government's decision to extend current regulations.

The impact of this measure is tempered by the fact that what is on offer is unpaid leave, which for many families will not be viable

Audrey Williams, partner at lawyers Eversheds

Originally, the government had chosen to grant parental leave only to those with children born on or after 15 December 1999.

However, it decided to lift the original cut-off date after consideration with unions, employer organisations and family groups.

The new rules effectively backdate the decision, and mean that parents with children who were aged under five years old on 15 December 1999 will be entitled to 13 weeks off for each child.

New rules

The leave must normally be taken before the child's fifth birthday.

However, there are currently transition arrangements, as some parents whose children were born before 15 December 1999, may now be older than five years old.

Summary of changes

Extended to parents with children who were under five on 15 December get 13 weeks unpaid leave

Parents of disabled children get 18 weeks unpaid leave

Parents of those children born before December 1999 will have until March 2005 to take the leave.

For parents of disabled children, the rule is not only backdated, but extended.

Around 115,000 parents will qualify for the new rules, which extend unpaid leave from 13 to 18 weeks.

They have until their child's 18th birthday to take their leave.

Claim rules

Employees must give 21 days notice to their employer, and the employer has the right to postpone the leave by up to six months if he or she considers it would cause "undue disruption" to the business.

However, it must be rescheduled for an alternative date, and within six months of the request.

Employers and employees can agree their own procedures, but if they fail to reach an agreement a fallback scheme exists.

Under this measure, parents are restricted to four weeks' leave a year in one-week blocks.

The one-year service restriction remains in place.

When an emergency occurs, if a child falls sick or has an accident for example, parents already have the right to take time off work to deal with the emergency.

An employee must have done one-year's service to qualify.

Scheme's impact?

A spokesman for the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said the extension to current regulations was a good compromise between improving the conditions of hard-working parents, and the wishes of employers.

He said: "More parents will be able to take time off when their children need them, such as when they're starting nursery or school.

"But, equally, employers won't be burdened unnecessarily.

"Parents must give their employer at least 21 days' notice of their intention to take time off and employers can postpone leave if they consider it would affect their business."

However, not everyone believes the extension will be very useful for parents.

Audrey Williams, partner at law firm Eversheds, said: "The decision to extend parental leave rights highlights the changing culture towards a more flexible workplace.

"However, the impact of this measure is tempered by the fact that what is on offer is unpaid leave, which for many families will not be viable."