ELIZABETH II

Parental Leave Act 2022

2022 CHAPTER 3

An Act to establish paid parental leave for both parents.
Bill ID CB8-04
Author(s) The Rt Hon Rev Sir George H. Vere KOBC PC MP, MP for Northern England, on behalf of HM Government
Amended by N/A
First reading 2022 February 17
Royal assent 2022 March 5
Commencement 2022 March 5
Affected legislation N/A

Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

1 Parental Leave

  1. Statutory maternity leave is abolished. Instead, both partners of a newborn child will be entitled to a combined 52 weeks of paid parental leave. These 52 weeks shall be divided as follows:
    1. The parent who gave birth is entitled to at least 22 weeks of parental leave.
    2. The partner of the parent who gave birth is entitled to at least 22 weeks of parental leave.
    3. The remaining 22 weeks of parental leave can be divided as the parents see fit.
    4. Both parents are allowed to take their leave at the same time as the other.
  2. Unless a parent opts to delay their parental leave, leave is considered to start 11 weeks prior to the expected week of childbirth, or the day after the birth if the birth is early.
    1. Parental leave is considered to automatically start if the parent who gives birth must take off work for a pregnancy-related illness in the 4 weeks before the week (Sunday to Saturday) that the baby is due.
  3. Both parents must inform their respective workplaces of any changes to their return-to-work date at least 8 weeks in advance.
  4. A mother who is on maternity leave at the time of the bill's enactment will have the choice of either finishing her maternity leave under the previous system or taking the remainder of their parental leave under the terms of this legislation.

2 Paid leave

  1. Any parent taking parental leave will receive either 100% of their previous salary or £935 per week, whichever is the lowest.

3 Eligibiklity

  1. Any parent classified as an employee at the time of taking their leave is eligible for paid parental leave.

4 Miscellaneous

  1. Unless contradicted by the terms of the bill, all provisions established under the Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999 are presumed to still be in effect and apply to both eligible parents.

5 Short title, commencement and extent

  1. This Act may be cited as the Parental Leave Act 2022.
  2. This act comes into force upon achieving Royal Assent.
  3. This act extends to the United Kingdom.
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