Parental leave Parental leave is a right to take time off work to look after a child or make arrangements for the child's welfare. Parents can use it to spend more time with children and strike a better balance between their work and family commitments. Parents can take up to 13 weeks off work up to the child's 5th birthday, or 18th if the child is disabled. However, you must have worked for your employer continuously for a year by the time you want to take the leave. The purpose of parental leave is to care for a child. Each employed parent, whether birth or adoptive, can take 13 weeks parental leave for each child. Parents of disabled children can take 18 weeks parental leave for each disabled child born or adopted. Parental Leave does not include a statutory right to pay, however an employee's individual terms and conditions may include this. An employee can take leave in blocks of one week or more up to a maximum of 4 weeks in a year for each child. An employee needs to give at least 21 days notice to his employer, giving the dates when the leave is to start and finish. The notice does not have to be in writing.
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