Your worker rights explained – including if you can miss work or leave early to look after kids in Easter holidays
IF YOU are planning to leave work in order to look after your kids this Easter break, you may be worried about what your rights entitle you to.
Parents concerned about affording childcare, if their kids aren’t old enough to be left at home alone, may be able to get around this issue due to legal employment rights.
While there isn’t any age set in law for when a child can be left at home alone, it is an offence to leave a youngster alone if it places them at risk.
If caught for this, you could face a fine or even be sent to jail for the crime of leaving a child “in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to health“.
However, you may be able to get time off work to look after your kids, helping you save on the potentially large cost of childcare.
Certain employees are entitled to unpaid parental leave to care for their child’s welfare.
This can be taken by parents who want to “spend more time with their children”, according to UK government guidance.
It can also be taken to look at new schools, settle children into new childcare arrangements, or to have your child spend more time with their family – for example visiting grandparents.
You’re entitled to 18 weeks of leave per child up until their 18th birthday.
However, you are limited each year to taking just four weeks per child per year, unless your employer agrees otherwise.
On top of this, you cannot take the days off individually – they must be taken in whole week chunks unless, again, your employer has a separate agreement with you.
But this means if you have not taken any leave yet this year for your one child, you could take two weeks off for the Easter holidays this month, and then a week off again for May half-term, as well as one for the break in October.
It should be noted that the “week” is equivalent to the amount of time you normally work over a seven day period.
For example, if you work three days a week, one “week” of unpaid parental leave would be just three days.
If you work an irregular schedule, this “week” equivalent is calculated as the number of days you work in a year, divided by 52.
It should be noted that you must provide at least 21 days’ notice before you intend to take your unpaid leave.
You must also confirm the exact start and end dates of your leave in your notice – this does not have to be in writing unless your employer requests so.
Your employer can also ask you for proof of your child’s existence, for example through a birth certificate, so long as it’s reasonable to do so.
This means they cannot ask for proof every time you request leave.
Eligibility for unnpaid parental leave
You qualify for unpaid parental leave if all of the following apply:
- You have been in the company for more than a year
- You are named on the child’s birth or adoption certificate or you have or expect to have parental responsibility
- You are not self-employed or a ‘worker’, for example an agency worker or contractor
- You are not a foster parent (unless you have secured parental responsibility through the courts)
- Your child is under 18
You can also leave work early to look after your children, in specific circumstances, according to government guidance.
As an employee, you’re allowed time off to deal with any “emergencies” involving your dependants.
You’re allowed a “reasonable” amount of time off to help your child so long as they are in an emergency.
This includes if your child suffers an illness, injury or assault, from disruption of care arrangements, or if they have been involved in an incident during school time.
For example, if the childcare provider for your kid suddenly cancels, for any reason, you are allowed to leave work early to care for them.
In many of these situations, you may not be able to give your employer notice of your leave but you should let them know as soon as possible.
You do not have to do this in writing or give written proof, and your employer cannot treat you “unfairly” for taking the time off.
They also cannot dismiss you from your position or choose you for redundancy if you request leave.
On top of this, they cannot refuse the request for time off, so long as it is “reasonable”.
It should be noted that you cannot have time off if you knew about the situation beforehand.
While your employer may pay you for this “compassionate leave”, they do not have to.
You should check your contract to see if there are rules about this.