Annual leave

What am I entitled to?
A minimum of four weeks paid leave each year.

If you work full-time five days a week then you should get 20 days of paid leave every year.

If you work part-time you should get the equivalent of four times what you work on average each week.

Time off for emergencies

What am I entitled to?
Since 1999 you have had the right to take unpaid time off work to deal with an emergency involving someone who depends on you. Your employer cannot penalise you for taking the time off, provided your reasons are genuine. The legal right only covers emergencies and only involves sufficient time to deal with the immediate emergency. The amount of time taken off work must be reasonable in the circumstances. You are expected to use other forms of leave (eg in the case of a child this may be parental leave) if you have prior notice of the emergency.

Who is a dependant?
Those that depend on you include your husband or partner, child or parent, or someone living with you as part of your family. Others who rely solely on you for help in an emergency may also qualify. There is no legal obligation for your employer to pay you for the time you take off.

What is an emergency?
An emergency is defined as when someone who depends on you:

is ill and needs your help

is injured or assaulted

needs you to deal with an unexpected disruption or breakdown in care, such as a childminder or nurse failing to turn up

goes into labour

You can also take time off if a dependant dies and you need to make funeral arrangements or attend the funeral.

Parental leave

What am I entitled to?
Parental leave was introduced to give parents of young and or disabled children the right to take a period of time off work to look after their child. Parents can use it to spend more time with children and strike a better balance between their work and family commitments. The leave is unpaid, although in some cases Income Support may be claimed when parental leave is taken.

Who is eligible?
To be eligible for parental leave you must

Be an employee

Be the birth or adoptive parent of the child concerned

Have worked for your employer for at least one year

In addition, your child must either

Be under 5 years old, or

Have been adopted by you on or after 15 December 1999, or

Be claiming Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and be under 18 years old

Parental leave can be taken at any time prior to your child's 5th birthday. In the case of adoption, you can take parental leave at any time prior to the 5th anniversary of the date when the placement for adoption began, or your child's 18th birthday if earlier. If your child is claiming DLA you can take the leave at any time up to your child's18th birthday.

How much leave can I take?
Each parent can take up to 13 weeks parental leave for each child. If your child claiming DLA, the entitlement is up to 18 weeks. You can take the leave in long or short blocks depending on what has been agreed with your employer.

What agreement will I have with my employer?
Employers and employees can agree their own procedures and terms for taking parental leave, for instance in a collective agreement or through individual arrangement. If there is no agreement, then the Fallback Scheme automatically applies - it is the legal minimum. An employer cannot offer you less advantageous terms than the Fallback Scheme.

What are the terms of the Fallback Scheme?
Under the Fallback Scheme.

You may only take leave in blocks or multiples of one week, unless your child is entitled to DLA, in which case you may take leave in blocks or multiple of one day

A maximum of four weeks in a year per eligible child may be taken by each parent

You must give your employer at least 21 days notice in writing to take parental leave

The employer can postpone your leave for up to six months where the business would be particularly disrupted if the leave were taken at the time requested, unless you are taking the leave immediately after the birth of your child (or placement of your child in your family for adoption), in which case your employer cannot postpone your leave.

If your employer is attempting to postpone the taking of your parental leave, please contact our helpline for advice - employers are required to follow a specific procedure if they want to do this.

Can my employer penalise me for taking parental leave?
No. At the end of parental leave, you are guaranteed the right to return to the same job if you took four weeks or less of leave. If more than four weeks was taken (or if you took a shorter period of leave but immediately after additional maternity leave), you are entitled to return to the same job or if that is not reasonably practicable, to a similar job which has the same or better status terms and conditions as your old job. You cannot be treated less favourably by your employer because you have taken or have tried to take parental leave - you are legally protected from dismissal, detrimental treatment and victimization for taking parental leave.