Parental leave and time off for dependants

A workplace agreement on parental leave must, at the very least, comply with certain minimum requirements. The agreement can be more favourable for the employee, for example a shorter period of notice or allowing leave to be taken in shorter blocks.

Default provisions for a workplace parental leave scheme

The default provisions for a workplace parental leave scheme are that it must:

• allow an employee to take a total of 18 weeks' parental leave - see parental leave entitlement
• allow for an employee to give 21 days' notice of their intention to take parental leave - see parental leave notification and postponement
• permit an employee to take leave up to the child's 18th birthday - see when parental leave can be taken and for how long
• limit an employee to no more than four weeks' parental leave per year - see when parental leave can be taken and for how long
• permit an employee to take leave only in blocks of one week (individual days if the child is disabled) - see when parental leave can be taken and for how long
• ensure that the employee's employment contract continues and certain minimum contractual conditions continue to apply - see contractual issues during parental leave
• ensure that the employee is entitled to return to the same job or, under certain conditions, a similar job - see returning to work after parental leave

Failure to reach agreement on a parental leave scheme

If you fail to reach - or simply don't have - a workforce agreement on parental leave arrangements, you must comply with the default provisions.

Enhancing a parental leave scheme

You can of course agree with workplace representatives to enhance your parental leave scheme by, for example:

• paying employees, eg full or half pay, while they are on leave
• allowing employees to take more than their maximum statutory parental leave entitlement
• specifying a notice period that is less than 21 days