Under EU law, unpaid parental leave (available to parents of children under 5) must be increased from the current 13 weeks to 18 weeks by 8 March 2012, or one year later if this is necessary "to take account of particular difficulties" in implementation. According to Acas and other sources, BIS has confirmed that it will use the additional year's grace in order to accommodate ongoing work to address flexible working policies and parental leave provision as part of the Modern Workplaces initiative, so the extension will now come into force in the UK in March 2013.
Key contacts
Steve Bell
Managing Partner - Employment, Industrial Relations and Safety (Australia, Asia), Melbourne
Emma Rohsler
Regional Head of Practice (EMEA) - Employment Pensions and Incentives, Paris
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