It had been expected that the government would implement updated provisions of the Parental Leave Directive requiring member states (if they had not already done so) to extend the period of unpaid parental leave available to parents by 5 March this year.

Our current Regulations provide that, once an employee has completed one year’s employment with an employer, he or she can take up to 13 weeks’ unpaid parental leave for each child born or adopted. The leave can be taken at any time up to the child’s fifth birthday (or five years after placement in the case of adoption). Continue reading →