Unpaid Parental Leave: 18 Weeks Per Child Explained (Great Britain, With a Note on Northern Ireland)

Maternity, paternity and adoption leave cover the first weeks. Unpaid parental leave is a different tool: a longer-term right to time off to spend with a child, which can be used in blocks as the child grows. New parents often meet it as a line at the end of a maternity guide, but the rules are worth understanding early. This article summarises GOV.UK’s guidance for employees, which is the guide our other leave articles follow for England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has its own guidance on nidirect, and its main differences are set out below. It is general information, not advice on an individual contract.

What the leave is for

GOV.UK says eligible employees can take unpaid parental leave to look after their child’s welfare. It gives examples: attending the birth of their child, spending more time with their children, looking at new schools, settling children into new childcare arrangements, and spending time with family such as visiting grandparents. Employment rights, including holiday and returning to a job, are protected during the leave (GOV.UK, “Unpaid parental leave”). As the name says, it is unpaid.

Who qualifies

According to GOV.UK, employees qualify if all of the following apply:

• they are named on the child’s birth or adoption certificate, or have or expect to have parental responsibility;
• they are not self-employed or a “worker”, such as an agency worker or contractor;
• they are not a foster parent, unless they have secured parental responsibility through the courts; and
• the child is under 18.

Employers can ask for proof, such as a birth certificate, as long as it is reasonable to do so, and cannot ask for proof each time leave is requested. They may also choose to offer parental leave to groups who are not eligible, which employees can check in the staff handbook (GOV.UK, “Unpaid parental leave: Eligibility”).

How much leave and how it is taken

An employee is entitled to 18 weeks’ leave for each child, and each adopted child, up to the child’s 18th birthday. GOV.UK sets a limit of four weeks per child per year for each parent unless the employer agrees otherwise. Leave must be taken in whole weeks, such as one or two weeks, rather than individual days, unless the employer agrees otherwise or the child is disabled, and it does not have to be taken all at once. A “week” equals the time an employee normally works over seven days, so for someone working three days a week, one week of parental leave is three days. For those with irregular weeks, the number of days is the total worked in a year divided by 52.

The entitlement attaches to the child, not the job. GOV.UK’s example is an employee who has used 10 of their 18 weeks with a previous employer: they can use up to eight weeks with a new employer if they are eligible (GOV.UK, “Unpaid parental leave: Entitlement”).

Notice and postponement

Employees must give 21 days’ notice before the intended start date. Where the employee or their partner is having a baby or adopting, it is 21 days before the week the baby or child is expected. The notice must confirm the start and end dates, and unless the employer requests it, it does not have to be in writing (GOV.UK, “Unpaid parental leave: Notice period”).

An employer can postpone leave only if it has a “significant reason”, for example serious disruption to the business. GOV.UK says leave cannot be postponed if there is no significant reason, if it is being taken by a father or partner immediately after the birth or adoption of a child, or if postponing it would mean the employee no longer qualified, such as delaying it until after the child’s 18th birthday. If leave is postponed, the employer must write within seven days explaining why, suggest a new start date within six months of the requested date, and cannot change the amount of leave requested (GOV.UK, “Unpaid parental leave: Delaying leave”).

Northern Ireland

nidirect’s parental leave guidance is written for Northern Ireland and differs in at least one important respect. It says a person must be an employee with at least one year’s continuous service where they work, and that each parent can take 18 weeks for each child up to the child’s 18th birthday. It describes parental leave as an individual right that cannot be transferred between parents, says statutory parental leave is unpaid, and notes that an employer’s scheme may be more generous (nidirect, “Parental leave”). Readers in Northern Ireland should follow nidirect rather than the GOV.UK detail above.

Where it fits with other leave

Parents often think of parental leave after other leave has ended. Our guides to maternity leave and pay en paternity leave and Shared Parental Leave cover the early weeks, and going back to work covers the return. For childcare planning, see choosing childcare.

Questions readers often ask

Can I take a single day of parental leave?

GOV.UK says leave is taken in whole weeks unless the employer agrees otherwise or the child is disabled.

Does the 18 weeks reset with each employer?

No. GOV.UK says the entitlement applies to each child, not to an individual job, so weeks used with a previous employer count.

Can my employer refuse the leave?

GOV.UK says an employer may postpone leave only for a significant reason, subject to the limits above, and cannot postpone leave taken by a father or partner immediately after the birth or adoption.

The bottom line

Unpaid parental leave gives eligible employees in Great Britain 18 weeks per child up to the child’s 18th birthday, in whole weeks and at most four weeks per child a year unless the employer agrees otherwise. It needs 21 days’ notice, can be postponed only for a significant reason and never for a partner taking leave right after the birth. Northern Ireland has its own guidance, including a one-year service condition, so readers there should check nidirect.

Sources

• GOV.UK, “Unpaid parental leave”
• GOV.UK, “Unpaid parental leave: Eligibility”
• GOV.UK, “Unpaid parental leave: Entitlement”
• GOV.UK, “Unpaid parental leave: Notice period”
• GOV.UK, “Unpaid parental leave: Delaying leave”
• nidirect, “Parental leave”