8 March 2013: The permitted period of parental leave following the birth or adoption of a child rises today from three to four months. The right to request flexible working is also extended to agency workers returning from a period of parental leave (The Parental Leave (EU Directive) Regulations 2013).

As a reminder: The limit on how much parental leave can be taken a year is 4 weeks (unless the employer agrees otherwise). Leave should normally be taken in blocks of one week. 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
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 5 (or 18 in special circumstances)

As parental leave is unpaid, its popularity remain limited, nonetheless it will be important to some employees.