Parental postponement

The extension of the right to unpaid parental leave has been postponed by a year by the government. Under the Parental Leave Directive, the parents of a child under the age of five will each have the right to take up to 18 weeks’ unpaid parental leave, an extension of five weeks from the current provisions.

The European Council’s Parental Leave Directive comes into force on 8 March 2012, but the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will use a grace period of one year that allows member states to delay implementation. The delay means that the increase in unpaid paternal leave will be introduced ahead of the other proposals.

For further information on the recent changes to paternity rights legislation, the TUC has released a new interactive online briefing for union reps. It explains the new rights fathers and partners (including same-sex partners) have to additional paternity leave and pay so that a couple can share the care of their baby.

Go to: www.tuclearning.net.