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In England and Wales, employees have the right to take leave from work. One such entitlement is parental leave rights. As an employer, you need to be aware of what this entails so you can avoid unwanted repercussions for your business and ensure the wellbeing of your employees.
This article will outline four types of parental leave entitlements for your employees and will explain the rights associated with both.
In England and Wales, there are four types of parental leave. These are:
- maternity leave;
- paternity leave;
- adoption leave; and
- shared parental leave.
You should note that when an employee takes a form of parental leave, this does not affect their entitlement to annual leave.
Parental Leave Rights
Maternity Leave
Suppose you have an employee who is expecting a baby. In that case, your employee has the right to 52 weeks maternity leave, of which the first 26 weeks are termed ‘ordinary maternity leave’ and the remaining weeks are termed ‘additional maternity leave’. Your employee can take maternity leave as early as 11 weeks before the baby is due.
When taking maternity leave, your employee may have the right to tax and national insurance deductible pay. This includes:
- 90% of their average wage for the first six weeks; and
- 90% for the remaining weeks or £151.97 per week, depending upon which is lower.
If your business ceases trading, you must still pay maternity leave.
Furthermore, there are rules concerning when an employee can take their maternity leave. These include:
- if the baby is born before maternity leave has started, it begins the day after the birth;
- if your employee has an illness related to her pregnancy which causes her to be absent from work within four weeks of the due date of her baby (a week being Sunday to Saturday), maternity leave automatically begins; and
- that you must take maternity leave for a minimum of two weeks from the birth of the baby, or for factory workers, a minimum of four weeks.
Paternity Leave
If you have an employee whose partner is expecting a baby, you must pay them during paternity leave. This applies to adoption and surrogacy too. Your employee can take this leave as either one week of leave or two weeks one after the other.
An employee has the right to tax and national insurance deductible pay at 90% of the employee’s earnings or £151.97 per week, depending upon which amount is lower.
There are rules concerning when an employee can take their paternity leave. For example:
- leave can begin on the date the baby is born or after the baby is due to be born – as agreed with you as the employer;
- for employees adopting a baby, leave can start either on the date they receive baby, the baby arrives in the UK, or a date they agree upon with you after either of those dates; and
- leave cannot exceed 56 days after the baby is born, and where the baby is born before the due date, it must not exceed 56 days of the due date.
Adoption Leave
Employees are entitled to take up to 52 weeks of paid adoption leave where they are either adopting a child or having a child through surrogacy. These 52 weeks are divided into what is termed 26 weeks of ‘Ordinary Adoption Leave’ and 26 weeks of ‘Additional Adoption Leave’.
You must pay your employee during the entire period of their adoption leave. The pay rate is 90% of their gross earnings for the first six weeks of leave and will remain at this or decrease to £151.97 depending on which figure is lower. Adoption pay is tax and national insurance deductible.
There are some rules regarding when adoption leave can be taken. Adoption leave may begin:
- 14 days before the date which the child is expected to be placed with the employee; or
- when the child starts to live with the employee; or
- the date the child has been matched with the employee; or
- the date the child comes to the UK, or 28 days following this date; or
- the date of birth of the child or the following day for surrogacy arrangements.
Shared Parental Leave
Shared Parental Leave (SPL) is a form of leave taken by either parent consisting of the amount of any maternity or adoption leave not fully completed.
It must be taken within one year of the birth of the baby or the date of adoption. It is paid at the rate of 90% of the employees average weekly earnings or £151.97 per week, depending upon which is lower.
SPL can be taken by either the employee or their partner, providing both qualify for it, or split between them.
Key Takeaways
It is vital that as an employer you are aware of the rights associated with parental leave, including:
- how much leave the employee is entitled to;
- what the rate of pay is for the leave entitlement; and
- any specific rules about the leave entitlement.
Ensuring that you grant your employees their rights relating to these types of leave will help avoid repercussions for your business, such as employees raising grievances that could lead to employment tribunals and possibly compensation payments paid by your business.
If you need help with annual and parental leave rights, our experienced employment lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents for a low monthly fee. Call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.
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Frequently Asked Questions
When an employer grants their employees the minimum annual leave required by law, it is at their discretion to include public holidays in this.
No. Shared Parental Leave consists of an employee’s remaining maternity or adoption leave and can be taken by either that employee or the employee’s partner. It is not additional leave to maternity or adoption leave.
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