Parental Leave: Employer Obligations Guide

TL;DR: Parental leave is one of the most heavily regulated employment rights globally. Employers must offer statutory minimum leave, pay correctly, protect the employee's job and terms, and manage the return-to-work process — with significant penalties for getting it wrong.

What You Need to Know

Parental leave — encompassing maternity, paternity, adoption, and shared parental leave — is among the most protected areas of employment law in every jurisdiction covered by this guide. Employees taking parental leave are entitled to some of the strongest protections available, including protections against dismissal, redundancy, and detriment.

The diversity of schemes across countries is considerable: Sweden has one of the world's most generous parental leave systems, with up to 480 days shared between parents. The US, at the federal level, provides no paid parental leave. France has a structured system of maternity and parental leave with social security funding. Australia and New Zealand have government-funded parental leave pay schemes.

For employers, the key obligations are: understanding the leave entitlement, ensuring continuous accrual of benefits during leave, handling return to work correctly, and avoiding adverse treatment at every stage.

How It Works: A Practical Overview

Types of Parental Leave

Maternity leave covers the period before and after childbirth for the birth parent. In most countries, there is a compulsory period immediately after birth during which the mother must not work.

Paternity leave or "partner leave" covers the other parent's entitlement around the time of birth. This is typically shorter than maternity leave.

Shared parental leave (SPL) — available in the UK since 2015 — allows parents to share the total leave entitlement between them after the initial compulsory period.

Adoption leave mirrors maternity leave for employees who adopt a child.

Parental leave (distinct from parental pay) refers to unpaid leave available after the initial leave period for parents to spend time with young children.

The Notification Process

Employees must notify their employer of their intention to take parental leave. Notification requirements vary:

• UK maternity leave: Employee must notify employer by the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth, stating the expected week of childbirth and the intended start date of maternity leave
• UK SPL: Complex statutory notification process with multiple notices possible
• Australia: At least 10 weeks' notice for planned leave; as soon as reasonably practicable in urgent circumstances
• France: Notification at least one month before the planned leave date

Employers should have clear internal policies explaining how notifications should be made and what supporting evidence is required (MATB1 form in UK, birth certificate, adoption paperwork etc.).

Pay During Parental Leave

Pay during parental leave is one of the most complex areas. Sources of pay include:

Statutory pay: Minimum amounts set by law. In the UK, Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is payable for up to 39 weeks — 90% of average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks, then the statutory flat rate (£184.03/week in 2024/25) for the remaining 33 weeks.

Employer-enhanced pay: Many employers offer enhanced maternity/paternity pay above the statutory minimum. This is a contractual benefit, not a legal requirement.

Government-funded schemes: In Australia, the Paid Parental Leave scheme provides government-funded pay (based on the National Minimum Wage) for eligible parents. New Zealand's Paid Parental Leave payments are government-funded for eligible employees.

Job Protection

During parental leave, the employee's job and employment terms are protected. In the UK:

• During Ordinary Maternity Leave (first 26 weeks), the employee is entitled to return to the same job
• During Additional Maternity Leave (weeks 27–52), the employee is entitled to return to the same or, if not reasonably practicable, a suitable alternative job on no less favourable terms
• Terms and conditions (except pay) continue during leave
• Annual leave continues to accrue

Making an employee redundant because of their maternity or parental leave is automatically unfair dismissal. Offering a maternally absent employee a lesser role or inferior terms on return is discrimination.

Return to Work

When an employee returns from parental leave:

• If they return from ordinary leave: same job
• If they return after the full year: same or suitable alternative job
• Keeping in touch (KIT) days: in the UK, employees can work up to 10 KIT days during maternity leave without losing SMP (20 SPLIT days during SPL)
• Ongoing breastfeeding arrangements may need to be considered

Country-by-Country Comparison

US note: Several US states (California, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Oregon, Colorado, Maryland) have enacted paid family and medical leave programs.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Contacting an employee excessively during maternity leave. Reasonable keeping in touch is acceptable; pestering is not. Unsolicited work-related contacts and pressure to return early can constitute a detriment.
2. Making the returning employee's role effectively unavailable. Not backfilling the role properly, restructuring during leave in a way that eliminates it, or creating a situation where the returning employee is marginalized are all forms of maternity discrimination.
3. Refusing to pay SMP because the employee is leaving after return. In the UK, SMP is payable regardless of whether the employee intends to return. Employers cannot make payment conditional on return.
4. Getting the notification deadlines wrong. Missing your obligation to respond to a maternity leave notification in writing — confirming the expected return date — can create dispute about entitlements. Respond promptly and in writing.
5. Not considering flexible working on return. Employees returning from maternity leave who make a flexible working request are entitled to have it considered in the same way as any other request. A pattern of denying such requests can constitute indirect sex discrimination.

Next Steps: Get Started Today

Prepare parental leave documentation and manage returns compliantly:

• Employment Checker — verify parental leave entitlements and pay obligations by jurisdiction
• Filing Deadlines — track notification deadlines and pay period requirements

MmowW Scrib🐮 is a document preparation service, not a law firm. We do not provide legal advice. For advice specific to your situation, consult a qualified employment solicitor or attorney.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I ask an employee during pregnancy when they plan to return from maternity leave?

A: You can ask, but the employee is not obliged to give a definitive answer early in the pregnancy. Their plans may change. You should not make employment decisions based on assumptions about how long they will be absent or whether they will return at all — such decisions can constitute pregnancy discrimination.

Q: What if a pregnant employee is on long-term sick leave before their maternity leave starts?

A: Pregnancy-related sickness can trigger the start of compulsory maternity leave early. In the UK, if an employee is absent due to a pregnancy-related illness in the four weeks before the expected week of childbirth, the employer can trigger the start of maternity leave. Careful documentation and legal advice are important in these situations.

Q: Do enhanced maternity pay schemes have to be offered to men taking shared parental leave?

A: This is a developing area of law. UK employment tribunals have found that some enhanced maternity pay schemes need not be mirrored for SPL, while others have found the opposite. The safest approach — and the one many larger employers are adopting — is to offer equal enhanced pay for all parental leave. Consult a solicitor or attorney for advice specific to your scheme.

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