Statutory Unpaid Parental Leave lets eligible employees take time away from work to look after a child. The GOV.UK guide sets an allowance of 18 weeks for each child, normally limited to four weeks per child in a year, and generally requires 21 days’ notice. The leave is unpaid unless the employer offers a better contractual arrangement.
This guide covers Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). If your job is in Northern Ireland, use our Northern Ireland Parental Leave guide: nidirect generally requires one year of continuous service, while GOV.UK does not set that minimum for this Great Britain route.
If you want to change your regular hours, workdays or work location rather than take time away to care for a child, read the separate Great Britain Flexible Working Request guide. A flexible working request does not itself give you Parental Leave or guarantee that a requested work pattern will be approved.
This is separate from the birth parent’s Statutory Maternity Leave. Read the Great Britain Maternity Leave guide for the 52-week right, notice dates, return changes and separate SMP eligibility check. For a sudden emergency involving a child or another dependant, see the separate time-off-for-dependants guide; it does not replace this planned-care leave right.
It is a separate employment right
The allowance follows the child
Give 21 days’ notice
Start by separating the leave schemes
“Parental leave” is used informally for several different rights. This guide covers ordinary Unpaid Parental Leave in the GOV.UK guide. It is distinct from Shared Parental Leave and Pay, which lets parents share certain maternity or adoption leave and pay after specific notices and curtailment steps. It is also separate from Paternity Leave and Statutory Paternity Pay. The new UK Adoption Leave guide covers the adopting parent’s 52-week leave and SAP process. The existing UK maternity and paternity pay guide covers payment calculations and the separate Great Britain paternity changes.
Who may qualify
GOV.UK says an employee must meet all the published eligibility conditions. The employee must be named on the child’s birth or adoption certificate or have, or expect to have, parental responsibility; must not be self-employed or a worker such as an agency worker or contractor; and the child must be under 18. Foster parents are not covered unless they obtain parental responsibility through the courts. Employers may offer a wider contractual policy.
The government’s eligibility page does not state a minimum service period for this right. Check your employment status and proof with HR. The employer may reasonably ask for evidence, such as a birth certificate, but GOV.UK says it should not request proof every time leave is requested.
How much leave and how it is counted
The statutory allowance is up to 18 weeks per child, available before the child’s 18th birthday. The normal annual limit is four weeks per child, unless the employer agrees otherwise. Parental Leave is unpaid under the statutory scheme.
Leave is normally taken in whole weeks, rather than single days. Exceptions apply if the employer agrees or the child is disabled. A “week” means the number of days the employee normally works in seven days; for a part-time employee, a week of leave therefore follows their normal working pattern. The allowance belongs to the child, not a particular job: eligible unused weeks may carry across a change of employer, subject to the amount already used and the new employer’s eligibility check.
Give notice and agree dates
Employees should give 21 days’ notice before the intended start date. If the leave is around a birth or adoption, give notice 21 days before the expected week of birth or placement. State the start and end dates. GOV.UK says notice does not have to be written unless the employer asks for it; written notice is still useful evidence. Keep the request and the employer’s response.
An employer may postpone requested leave only where it has a significant reason, such as serious business disruption. It cannot postpone leave immediately after a birth or adoption, or where postponement would make the employee lose eligibility, such as pushing the leave beyond the child’s 18th birthday. If it postpones, the employer must write with the reason within seven days of the original request, suggest a new start date within six months of the requested start, and cannot reduce the amount of leave requested.
Before you submit a request
- 1Confirm that you are an employee, have the required relationship or parental responsibility, and the child is under 18.
- 2Check how many weeks have already been used for this child, including leave taken with previous employers.
- 3Calculate the requested weeks using your normal work pattern and the four-week annual limit.
- 4Give the employer at least 21 days’ notice with the intended dates; retain a written copy even if the employer does not require it.
- 5If the employer proposes postponement, check the reason, seven-day written notice, replacement date and six-month limit against GOV.UK.
Pay, benefits and protections
The statutory leave is unpaid. An employer may offer enhanced or paid leave in a contract or family policy, so check the staff handbook and whether the policy uses the same notice rules. Do not assume Statutory Paternity Pay, Shared Parental Pay or another benefit is payable for these weeks: they are separate schemes with their own conditions.
Employment rights such as holiday entitlement and the right to return to the job are protected during parental leave under the government’s employee-rights guidance. Before taking unpaid weeks, ask payroll how salary, pension contributions, annual leave and any means-tested benefits may be affected. The answer can depend on your employer’s scheme and household circumstances.
If a request is disputed, ask the employer to explain its position in writing and check current Acas and GOV.UK guidance. This guide describes the published process, not the outcome of an individual employment dispute.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is statutory Parental Leave paid?
How many weeks can I take for each child?
Do I need a year of service?
Can agency workers or self-employed people take this statutory leave?
How much notice must I give?
Does my notice have to be written?
Can I take single days instead of whole weeks?
What counts as a week for a part-time employee?
Can the employer postpone my leave?
When can parental leave not be postponed?
Do unused weeks move with me to a new job?
Is this the same as Shared Parental Leave?
Does Parental Leave affect my job or holiday rights?
Can my employer ask for evidence?
Official sources
Use the Unpaid Parental Leave Planner to map an ordinary planned block, employer notice reminder and the usual per-child limits. It does not determine eligibility or model the separate expected-week notice deadline for leave immediately around birth or adoption.