Parental Leave - does the reason matter?

grudgehugger

Looking to check something with the Boards hivemind before I go talking to my manager/HR about it.

When I go looking up parental leave, I find definitions like "Parental leave entitles parents to take unpaid leave from work to spend time looking after their children."

Does how I use the time actually matter in terms of whether my employer agrees to me taking the leave or the law saying they kind of have to let me take it? Basically can I use it to go on a long holiday?

In more detail: Covid permitting, I'm hoping to use parental leave to get unpaid leave from work to do some extended travelling (let's say 5 months) in 2022. It'll be with my family so I will be looking after the kids alright, but you could hardly say that's why I'm taking the leave... it's basically to let us go on a bit of an adventure, YOLO etc.

Note that the wife and I have been thinking about this / saving for it for a few years, the plan has ZERO to do with living through a lockdown for a year.

Planning to talk to work about it soon as I need to know well in advance of actually going that it's a runner... thankfully where I work is very employee friendly so it's an easy enough topic to raise, would still like to know where I stand on the above though.

Where I work there is no reason asked nor required on the form. Your just applying for parental leave, it sums it up.
Im nearly sure in the general rules of it, it does state you are not permitted to use your parental leave to work (somewhere else).

Millem

grudgehugger wrote: »

Looking to check something with the Boards hivemind before I go talking to my manager/HR about it.

When I go looking up parental leave, I find definitions like "Parental leave entitles parents to take unpaid leave from work to spend time looking after their children."

Does how I use the time actually matter in terms of whether my employer agrees to me taking the leave or the law saying they kind of have to let me take it? Basically can I use it to go on a long holiday?

In more detail: Covid permitting, I'm hoping to use parental leave to get unpaid leave from work to do some extended travelling (let's say 5 months) in 2022. It'll be with my family so I will be looking after the kids alright, but you could hardly say that's why I'm taking the leave... it's basically to let us go on a bit of an adventure, YOLO etc.

Note that the wife and I have been thinking about this / saving for it for a few years, the plan has ZERO to do with living through a lockdown for a year.

Planning to talk to work about it soon as I need to know well in advance of actually going that it's a runner... thankfully where I work is very employee friendly so it's an easy enough topic to raise, would still like to know where I stand on the above though.

I reckon as long as you are not working elsewhere you are fine.
I wouldn’t go broadcasting you are on going on holidays.
Just in case someone else needs parental leave and it’s postponed etc as the timing doesn’t suit work.

Snotty

There isn't and shouldn't be questions around the reason for parental leave, it's none of works business if one of the children are sick or going through some issues, for that reason it's pretty straight forward.

Hopefully you aren't socially friends with any work colleagues as if it was broadcast there might be some sour feelings from the team or management when you get back.

dinomite

I've done this, and had no issues. In fact, I combined holidays stored up and long periods of parental leave to take a year off.

The only issue you may face is check if there are any hr blocks on the amount of time you can take as a block. In my case, they could have pushed this, but didn't. I think giving people plenty of notice helps.

Best of luck and have a ball! We took the kids out of school for a year and was the best time ever. Incidentally, if you take time at end of year/start of the following year, it can work out very well from tax point of view.