Parental leave

Post12345 · Post by **Post12345** » 10 Jan 2018, 19:07

So am I right in thinking that you can apply for unpaid parental leave. E.g. In the summer holidays due to lack of childcare etc and others holiday is not taken into account..?
Has anyone had experience of taking 2 weeks or so of unpaid parental leave. I suspect my dom will fight me to the death for it and I just want to know the ins and outs.

Is it really a thing or just a thing on paper but in offices different as with most things .....

Post12345 · Post by **Post12345** » 10 Jan 2018, 19:18

I have found the policy at a glance but can't access the full policy. If anyone could point me in the right direction I would super appreciate it. I don't dare ask my dom untill he's allocated my a annual leave....

number one · Post by **number one** » 10 Jan 2018, 19:43

Parental leave is not used this way. It’s for last minute problems such as looking after ill children or if a child minder has told you at the last minute they are unable to look after your chidren for one reason or another. Saying you can’t find a childminder so far in advance and for 2 weeks looks like you just want 2 weeks of in the school holidays.

kingeric · Post by **kingeric** » 10 Jan 2018, 20:22

number one wrote:Parental leave is not used this way. It’s for last minute problems such as looking after ill children or if a child minder has told you at the last minute they are unable to look after your chidren for one reason or another. Saying you can’t find a childminder so far in advance and for 2 weeks looks like you just want 2 weeks of in the school holidays.

That's dependent leave. That can often be paid leave for a couple of days in emergency situations although it doesn't have to be paid, some businesses do pay.

Parental leave is different. Not sure of the exact figures but a parent is entitled to something like 18 weeks unpaid leave up until the child is 16 years old.

plaguelift · Post by **plaguelift** » 10 Jan 2018, 20:51

https://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/mrm/Bei ... ummary.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A bit of info here (I think you may have read this) but it looks like you’re going to have to ask the dom for the full policy.

Post by **POSTMAN** » 10 Jan 2018, 21:58

You want special leave which is time off without pay or use your annual leave, or apply for family friendly/flexible working...
https://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/mrm/Fle ... ummary.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Examples of flexible working include: part-time working, job sharing, term-time working, staggered
hours, swapping hours or shifts.

TONY MELON · Post by **TONY MELON** » 11 Jan 2018, 08:43

Hi you can take parental leave whenever you like.
you just need to give them notice
It can't be refused by your manager it's a legal requirement only thing the manager can do is delay the leave as the last resort but he's only allowed to do that if he can show its gonna effect the business short of staff
I've taken 3 weeks off in august unpaid parental leave with out any problems

Post12345 · Post by **Post12345** » 11 Jan 2018, 14:43

Thanks guys that's the one the advance notice unpaid parental leave.
My dom is not going to be a happy bunny...... crazy how offices can be so different.... If anyone can find the full policy id super appreciate it so i could be ready for the no haha x

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 11 Jan 2018, 17:06

Unpaid parental leave https://www.gov.uk/parental-leave" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Time off for family and dependants https://www.gov.uk/time-off-for-dependants" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

GingerBeard · Post by **GingerBeard** » 16 Jan 2018, 14:12

I took 2 weeks ordinary parental leave last summer but it was only granted after a real nasty battle with the DOM. He didn't seem to be in any way familiar with the policy and amongst other things told me that if I applied for it again in the future that my application would be refused ( which he is not allowed to do). Our local union reps also seemed unfamiliar with the policy and offered very little assistance. Should've raised a complaint at the time but didn't want an ongoing feud spoiling my summer.

Hope it goes smoothly for you but if not then do dig your heels in.

St1983 · Post by **St1983** » 20 Feb 2020, 12:47

Hi, I know this post is old but just wanted to know how everyone is getting along with getting their unpaid parental leave? I text in today to say I couldn’t get childcare so wouldn’t be coming in and manager just said to make sure I have childcare in place in future as he wouldn’t be authorising anymore unpaid leave. Didn’t know it was even up to him. And this only happened because he didn’t confirm which was my rest day until beginning of this week when last week I had requested to have the weds or Thursday as my rest day so u could work around my childcare. He gave me Tuesday as my rest day but wasn’t told until the Monday. I’m wanting to apply for a couple of unpaid days in the future as well, dnt think that will go down too well. I dnt see how royal is family friendly at all if they can’t even tell me my rest days in advance for the school hols so I can sort out childcare

Irishmisst · Post by **Irishmisst** » 26 Feb 2020, 19:12

You can have parental leave if you have children under 5 which you must take in increments of weeks or if your child is registered disabled you can take it in days. Either must be applied for in writing a month in advance prior to the date you require off. I used to do this every Xmas at an old Job as they wouldn't let me book in time off over Xmas even though they knew I couldn't work it due to childcare issues.

Woody Guthrie · Post by **Woody Guthrie** » 26 Feb 2020, 19:22

Parental leave is unpaid. You’re entitled to 18 weeks’ leave for each child and adopted child, up to their 18th birthday.

The limit on how much parental leave each parent can take in a year is 4 weeks for each child (unless the employer agrees otherwise).

You must take parental leave as whole weeks (eg 1 week or 2 weeks) rather than individual days, unless your employer agrees otherwise or if your child is disabled. You don’t have to take all the leave at once.

A ‘week’ equals the length of time an employee normally works over 7 days.

Eligibility
Employees qualify if all of these apply:

they’ve been in the company for more than a year
they’re named on the child’s birth or adoption certificate or they have or expect to have parental responsibility
they’re not self-employed or a ‘worker’, eg an agency worker or contractor
they’re not a foster parent (unless they’ve secured parental responsibility through the courts)
the child is under 18
Employers can ask for proof (like a birth certificate) as long as it’s reasonable to do so, eg they can’t ask for proof each time an employee requests leave.

Employers can extend parental leave to those groups who aren’t eligible. Employees can check this in their staff handbook.

Notice period
Employees must give 21 days’ notice before their intended start date. If they or their partner are having a baby or adopting, it’s 21 days before the week the baby or child is expected.

Employees must confirm the start and end dates in their notice. Unless an employer requests it, this doesn’t have to be in writing.