The announcement of the coming of a newborn is a source of great happiness for parents. For managers, this breaking news is sometimes not very welcome, especially when granting an extended leave to the parent. Do you want to know the terms and conditions of maternal leave or parental leave? Are you worried about your job as a parent? All these questions will be answered right away.

Parental Leave in the UK:

Parental leave is leave for childcare purposes. Employees who can benefit from this leave are, of course, parents. This leave is granted for both genders and can have various purposes. Employees who can benefit from this leave are:

• Single parents: single moms, single fathers, divorced, or a widowed parent.
• Parents: in the general meaning of parents who have a newborn child.

Now, let's understand the rights of each parent and see how to apply for this leave. You may also read; What are the Jobs in England with Accommodation?

Maternity Leave in the UK:

Since ladies first, we will start by working moms. How long is maternity leave? To answer this question, you should first know the types of maternity leave in the UK. Three types go under the roof of The Statutory Maternity Leave, which lasts 52 weeks in total.

1. Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML): this leave is for pregnant moms and lasts 26 weeks.

2. Additional Maternity Leave (AML): this leave is also 26 weeks. 

3. Compulsory Maternity Leave (CML): this leave lasts only two weeks following childbirth. If the mom works in a factory, the leave is four weeks.

To obtain this leave, a working mom should be pregnant and start at least 11 weeks before the expected delivery date. Employers must be informed at least 15 weeks before the expected date of delivery. Take a look at How to Focus on Career After Marriage (Women Guide)

Concerning the salary, there is compensation paid by employers called Statutory Maternity Pay. It is paid within the limit of 39 weeks. Here is what a working mom receives:

-90% of the average weekly salary during the first six weeks.

-90% of the average pregnancy weekly salary, capped at £ 145.18 for the next 33 weeks.

-No compensation is provided beyond 39 weeks.

Companies are, of course, free to provide longer durations and amounts of compensation.

Paternity Leave:

As the UK's professional field is trying to implement gender equality at work, it grants a paternity leave. However, this leave is not a free gift. A father of a newborn has the right to take two weeks paternity leave. There are many differences between maternity and paternity leaves. Since the Father has a higher salary than the mother in the UK, the paternity leave allowance is lesser than the maternity leave allowance. The Father's wage would be decreased to £ 148.68 per week for 37 weeks. It is the same amount as the maternity leave allowance after the first six weeks of leave. This decrease would significantly affect family finances. How to do Effective Workload Management By following 6 Easy Tips

Paternity leave is often for single dads who have custody of a child. The UK is a too open society that offers a real opportunity for the Father to take part in his child's care and education. That's why an employee can take a short leave for childcare or look after his child's health or visit kids living with a separate partner. The reasons are various to request for a leave as a parent.

Paternity Leave in the UK is open to the Father of the child and to adoptive parents. The leave-in this case requires some eligibility criteria:

-The child age: employees should inform employers about this leave and inform about the child's age to determine the necessity for this leave.

-The child health condition: although the UK grants healthcare support for children, a parent can request a paternity leave for medical purposes.

-Custody and the child's accommodation: an employee can specify the family situation to obtain a paternal leave. For example, he can put it as information whether he is the only person who looks for the child or any family members are caring for the child.

Why Do Employers Reject Some Parental Leaves:

Parental leave is limited to a maximum of two weeks. Employees should be eligible to obtain this leave.

The employees aspiring for this leave should have completed a continuous period of 26 weeks of work before requesting this leave.

Concerning moms, they should have completed a continuous period of 15 weeks of work before giving birth.

Concerning adoptive parents, be it a mom or a dad, they should have achieved 25 weeks of work before requesting this leave.

If the employee is not eligible for Statutory Maternity Pay, she may, in some cases, claim Maternity Allowance paid by the Department for Work and Pensions.

The above rights are only for employees in the public sector and not for self-employed people. Employees should also be working full-time and not part-time workers. A working parent also has the right to return to his or her position or an equivalent position at the end of extended parental leave.

Are you interested in another type of leaves? you can also visit What is a Sabbatical Leave from Work?