Flexible working : Your legal rights

If you have children

If you have a child under the age of 17 (or under the age of 18 from April 2011) you have a statutory right to request flexible working as long as you:

• are an employee of your company (i.e. you are not an agency worker); 
• have worked continuously for your employer for at least 26 weeks;
• have not made another statutory request within the last 12 months.

This right applies if you are the mother or the father of the child and to foster carers, guardians and step-parents.

Employees who care for a disabled child under the age of 18 who is in receipt of disability living allowance, and employees who look after certain adults who need care, also have a statutory right to request flexible working.

You can request to change the hours you work, change the times you work or request to work from another location or from home for part of all of your hours.

An employer does not have to accept your request, but they can only reject a request on the grounds that it would have a detrimental impact on the business.

Pregnant women

With a very few exceptions most pregnant women have statutory maternity rights including:

• paid time off for ante-natal care; 
• the right to work in a safe environment, which may include making adjustments to the working environment, location or hours to accommodate pregnancy; 
• the right to take up to 52 weeks' maternity leave;
• the right to claim Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) for up to 39 weeks for most women who have worked for the same employer for 26 weeks continuously and who have average weekly earnings of at least the national insurance lower earnings limit.

Women also have the right to claim unfair dismissal and discrimination if they are not allowed to return to work after having the baby or are dismissed because of pregnancy.

Adoption

If you have been matched with a child for adoption or have had a child placed with you for adoption you may be entitled to adoption leave. Adoptive parents are entitled to up to 52 weeks' adoption leave and most parents will also be entitled to Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) for 39 weeks.

Only one parent is entitled to take adoption leave, although the other parent may be able to take paternity leave.

A new proposal is currently being considered by the government, in which parents, including those of adopted children, may share the allocation of parental leave between themselves and their partners. It is not yet known if and when this will come into force.

Paternity leave

Most working fathers are currently entitled to one to two weeks' paternity leave. Most fathers will also be entitled to Statutory Paternity Pay.

Paternity leave can start either on the day the baby is born or at a future date (within 56 days of the birth).

The government is currently consulting on a new shared parental leave policy in which fathers may be entitled to additional paternity leave. Under the proposed scheme, if your partner has gone back to work without using up all of their statutory maternity leave then you can take the remainder of their leave off instead. You are only entitled to this after the baby is 20 weeks old and before they are 1 year old. It is not yet known if and when this will come into force.

Parental leave

If you have worked for your employer for at least a year and have a child who is under five, then you have the right to take time off work to look after them. You are entitled to up to 13 weeks of unpaid leave. If you have a child who is under 18 and disabled then you can take up to 18 weeks of unpaid leave. However, an employer may be able to limit you to taking no more than four weeks for each child in each year.

Emergencies

Employees are entitled to reasonable time off for unexpected problems or emergencies involving family members or other people who depend on them. This includes illness or injury, death, or unexpected breakdown in care arrangements. The employer will decide what counts as ‘reasonable’ time off and leave is normally unpaid, unless the contract of employment states otherwise. 

Career breaks and sabbaticals

There is no legal requirement for an employer to offer career breaks or sabbaticals to staff. However a number of large companies offer these opportunities.