When does parental leave have to be taken by?
Employees can choose to take parental leave any time – • Up until the child’s fifth birthday • In adoption cases, for five years after the child is first placed with the family for adoption (or until the child’s 18th birthday if that comes sooner) • In the case of a child with a disability, up until the child’s 18th birthday (for the purposes of parental leave, a disabled child is one for whom disability living allowance has been awarded)
• Children born or adopted on or after 15 December 1999: Either by the child’s fifth birthday or in adoptive cases, by five years after the child is first placed with the family for adoption (or until the child’s 18th birthday, which ever is sooner) • Children with a disability: By the child’s eighteenth birthday (for the purposes of parental leave, a disabled child is one for whom a disability living allowance has been awarded).
