Parents of a child with a disability can take 13 weeks' leave at any time until the child reaches the age of 18. The regulations allow employers and employees to agree their own parental leave scheme, provided it includes these basic rights. If no scheme is agreed, the fallback position included in the regulations automatically applies - and it is this that is causing controversy. Under the fallback scheme, employees must give 21 days' notice of their intention to take parental leave, and can have no more than four weeks off in any one year. This has to be taken in blocks of one or more weeks.
New fathers can take time off immediately after their child is born or adopted.
The fallback scheme specifically refers to education as an area where employers might need to postpone parental leave. This seems to mean that schools will be able to tell teachers to take unpaid parental leave during the school holidays when they would normally be paid. Since teachers are obviously highly unlikely to apply for leave on these terms, the teacher unions are calling for a reduction in the six month deferment period. The National Employers' Organisation for School Teachers is about to launch a review of the national collective agreement covering teachers' employment conditions, including parental leave, and will not be discussing possible changes with the unions until this is completed. Emergency leave last December, employees have had the right to take a reasonable amount of time off work to deal with emergencies involving dependants.