With the shift in workplace dynamics post-Covid, employees are reevaluating their priorities, leading to a rise in unpaid parental leave requests.
- C&M Travel Recruitment’s recent webinar highlighted the growing trend of employees seeking extended time off to focus on family life.
- Employers are advised to prepare for a surge in parental leave requests, as staff become increasingly aware of their entitlements.
- Despite the longstanding availability of parental leave, there is heightened interest in utilising it for improved work-life balance.
- The pandemic has prompted a reassessment of family time importance, influencing employees’ decisions to take leave despite financial considerations.
With an evolving post-Covid work environment, there has been a notable increase in employees reassessing their professional and personal priorities. This shift was a focal point during the recent ‘Euros & Olympics: The ABC Guide to Curing Staff Headaches in Summer 2024’ webinar hosted by C&M Travel Recruitment. Employers are expected to face heightened requests for unpaid parental leave, as the workforce becomes more conscious of their rights and opportunities to balance work with family life.
Employees with children up to the age of 18 are entitled to 18 weeks of unpaid parental leave per child. However, this leave must be taken in whole weeks rather than individual days, unless flexible arrangements are agreed upon or if the child has disabilities. The yearly limit stands at four weeks per child unless employers permit otherwise.
Ami Naru, a partner and head of employment at Travlaw, mentioned that the phenomenon of increasing parental leave requests is not entirely new, yet it has gained momentum as more employees become aware of their work-life balance options. She stated: “More employees are becoming aware of what they can take and their rights. Do not be surprised if you get requests for this.”
The conditions for qualifying for parental leave stipulate that employees must have worked with their current employer for over a year and have a child under 18 years of age. Although employers cannot outright refuse such requests, they retain the ability to defer them for valid reasons.
The rise in unpaid parental leave is partly attributed to a newfound recognition of the importance of spending quality time with family. This realisation seemed to have intensified after the experiences of the pandemic, which underscored the value of nurturing family bonds amidst professional responsibilities. As Ami Naru reflected, “Parental leave has been around for ages but I think the new world that we work in post-Covid has probably made people reconsider their priorities. It is something more and more employees are using if they can afford it.”
The increased inclination towards unpaid parental leave highlights a paradigm shift in employee priorities post-pandemic.
