The school holidays can be a challenging period for working parents and employers. Childcare arrangements may change, holiday clubs may be full, grandparents may be unavailable, and unexpected issues can arise at short notice. For employers, this often means an increase in requests for annual leave, parental leave, flexible working, and time off for dependants.
Two rights that are often confused are unpaid parental leave and time off for dependants.
Unpaid parental leave
Unpaid parental leave is planned leave to care for a child. Employees are entitled to up to 18 weeks’ unpaid parental leave for each child, up to the child’s 18th birthday. The usual limit is four weeks per child per year, unless the employer agrees otherwise. Leave is normally taken in blocks of whole weeks, although different rules can apply where the child is disabled or where the employer agrees to a more flexible arrangement.
Employees normally need to give 21 days’ notice before taking parental leave. You can ask for evidence of entitlement, such as proof of parental responsibility or the child’s date of birth. In some circumstances, you could postpone parental leave for up to six months if your business would be particularly disrupted, although you should take advice before doing so.
Time off for dependants
Time off for dependants is different. This is designed for emergencies involving a dependant, such as a child, spouse, partner, parent or someone who relies on the employee for care. Examples might include a child falling ill, a breakdown in childcare arrangements, or a school unexpectedly closing. It is not intended to cover planned childcare throughout the school holidays.
There is no fixed amount of time off for dependants. The employee is entitled to a reasonable amount of unpaid time off to deal with the immediate emergency. This may be enough time to arrange alternative care, rather than several days or weeks away from work. Your employees should tell you as soon as possible, although in an emergency they may not be able to do this before leaving work.
Practical steps
Before the busy summer period sets in, you should consider:
reminding employees how to request annual leave or parental leave;
checking whether existing policies are clear;
dealing with requests consistently and fairly;
keeping records of agreed leave;
considering temporary flexibility where workable; and
taking advice before refusing leave or treating an employee unfavourably.
You should also be careful not to penalise employees for using statutory rights. Employees must not be dismissed or treated unfairly for taking or requesting reasonable time off for dependants.
Where needed, our advisers can assist you with navigating this area in what is already a busy time in the calendar for all. Please contact us on the Helpline 0370 840 0234.
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