Parental Leave Entitlement To Change

The government is to encourage more fathers to work part time or flexible hours so that they can spend more time with their children.Ministers will promise to extend the right to request flexible working to an extra 4.5 million people . It is currently available to parents with children up to the age of six.

A deal between government and unions, agreed yesterday means that Workers that need to look after a sick child under the age of 16 or support a child under exam strain will be entitled to unpaid leave.

The legislation will mean that parents with a year’s continuous service will be entitled to 13 weeks of unpaid parental leave per child. No more than four weeks can be taken in a year. Workers must give 21 days’ notice if they want to support children through exams. Employers can postpone the leave if it would mean ‘undue disruption’, though leave would be required to be rescheduled within six months of the initial request.

The move is not widely could prove unpopular with many businesses. John Cridland, deputy director general of the CBI, said: “Now is not the time to be placing extra burdens on British business...We already have one of the most generous flexible working systems in Europe, and the Government is already committed to giving more parents the right to request flexible working...Any plans that would hamper our companies as they compete in the global economy should concern us all.”