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Your right to time off work

Balancing working life with home life can be a challenge for single parents. It isn’t always easy to manage work around children’s needs. So it’s important to know your rights when it comes to taking time off for your family.

Here are some common scenarios when parents need time off and the rights you should have.

There’s an emergency or your child is ill

You have the right to take time off to care for someone in an emergency. This person can be your child, parent, someone you live with or someone who relies on you, like an older neighbour. This is called a dependent. An emergency can be: 

  • An illness or injury 
  • A problem with your childcare 
  • Your child being involved in an unexpected incident at school

This is known as time off for dependants or emergency family leave. It won’t be paid time off, unless your employer has a different policy. 

The important thing is that you shouldn’t be penalised for taking time off, as long as you have genuine reasons. If you need this kind of time off, let your employer know as soon as you can. Explain why you need it and when you think you’ll be back. 

You can only take as much time as is needed to deal with the emergency. This will depend on what the problem is, but 1 or 2 days is typical. If you need more than this, talk to your employer: they might ask you to take annual leave, compassionate leave or parental leave instead.

You’re dealing with a death

If someone close to you or who relies on you dies, you can take a reasonable amount of time off to make funeral arrangements and go to the funeral. This is called bereavement leave. See our page on dealing with a death for more.

If you’ve become a single dad because your partner died and your child is under 1, you may be entitled to shared parental leave.

You need to look after your children

You can take unpaid time off to look after a child. This is called parental leave. You can use it to do things like:

  • Take more time off straight after maternity, paternity or adoption leave 
  • Spend more time with your baby or very young child
  • Look after your child during if they’re in hospital
  • Look at new schools
  • Help your child settle into new childcare arrangements
  • Spend more time with family – for example, visiting grandparents

You can take parental leave if:

  • You’ve been working for your employer for more than a year
  • Your child is under 18  
  • You’re named on the child’s birth or adoption certificate or have parental responsibility for them 

This kind of time off applies to your child, not your job. So if you change jobs and still have parental leave you haven’t used, you can take it with you to your new job. 

You can take a total of 18 weeks for each child until they turn 18. You can take up to 4 weeks a year. And you have to take whole weeks rather than individual days off, unless your child is disabled or your employer agrees otherwise.

You’ll need to tell your employer at least 21 days before you want to start your parental leave. Your employer may choose to pay you during this time off – it’s up to them. They can also ask you to delay taking time off if, for example, it would seriously disrupt the business.

Working Families has more information on parental leave and what to do if your employer refuses your request.

You’re pregnant, or have just had a baby or adopted a child

If you’re having a baby or adopting a child, you’re entitled to paid time off work. For information about maternity, paternity and adoption pay, see our page on your right to paid time off with a new baby.

Time off for mothers

All pregnant employees can take up to a year of Statutory Maternity Leave. It doesn’t matter how many hours you work or how long you’ve worked for your employer. This time off will be divided into:

  1. Ordinary Maternity Leave – the first 26 weeks off 
  2. Additional Maternity Leave – the last 26 weeks off 

You don’t have to take the whole year off. But do you have to take at least 2 weeks off after your baby is born (or 4 weeks if you work in a factory).

You can take time off from 11 weeks before the week your baby is due. At least 15 weeks before the week your baby is due, let your employer know you’re pregnant. Tell them when you want to start and end your maternity leave (you can change this later). 

While you’re off on maternity leave, your rights at work are protected. This includes your right to:

  • Come back to exactly the same job if you come back after 26 weeks
  • Be offered a job with a similar status and pay if you take more than 26 weeks off (but less than a year)
  • A pay review
  • Your employer’s pension contributions
  • Build up holiday leave
  • Be told about changes that affect you, such as restructuring or possible promotion 

Your employer can contact you about work while you’re on leave, but only if it’s reasonable to do this. You might want to agree in writing how often they can contact you before you go on leave. You can also choose to do up to 10 days of paid work without interrupting your leave. These are known as ‘keeping in touch’ days.

You can learn more about pregnant employees’ rights on gov.uk – and check what time off and pay you’re entitled to. Maternity Action also has lots of useful information for expecting and new parents, including a free advice line.

Shared Parental Leave

You may be able to share up to 50 weeks of paid parental leave with the baby’s other parent, even if you don’t live together. You can end maternity leave early and share time off with your child’s other parent. This helps you be more flexible in looking after your child during their first year. 

You may decide to take it in turns to take time off to look after your child. Or you might want to be off work at the same time.

You can take this type of time off if one parent is entitled to maternity leave and the child’s other parent is an employee earning over a certain amount

Working this out can be complicated. Use the Shared Parental Leave calculator on gov.uk or talk to us for advice.

Time off for fathers

As a baby’s father or the partner of a baby’s mother, you may be able to take Statutory Paternity Leave. You can take either 1 or 2 weeks’ paid time off. To get this, you’ll need to have been working for your employer for at least 26 weeks.

Shared Parental Leave

You may be able to share up to 50 weeks of paid parental leave with the baby’s other parent, even if you don’t live together. This helps you be more flexible in looking after your child during their first year. 

You may decide to take it in turns to take time off to look after your child. Or you might want to be off work at the same time.

You can take this type of time off if one parent is entitled to maternity leave and the child’s other parent is an employee earning over a certain amount. You can take it any time after Paternity Leave and up to 52 weeks after the birth. If you take Shared Parental Leave first, you’ll lose the right to Paternity Leave.

Working this out can be complicated. Use the Shared Parental Leave calculator on gov.uk or talk to us for advice.

Time off when you’re adopting

You can take up to a year off as Adoption Leave. If you’re adopting a child from overseas, to qualify you must have been working for your employer for at least 26 weeks by the date you’re matched with a child for adoption. 

Shared Parental Leave

You may be able to share up to 50 weeks of paid parental leave with the baby’s other parent, even if you don’t live together. This helps you be more flexible in looking after your child during their first year. 

You may decide to take it in turns to take time off to look after your child. Or you might want to be off work at the same time.

You can take this type of time off if either parent is entitled to adoption leave and the child’s other parent is an employee earning over a certain amount.

Working this out  can be complicated. Use the Shared Parental Leave calculator on gov.uk or talk to us for advice.

If your employer wants to change your hours

If your employer tries to change your hours to suit their needs but it doesn’t work for your family, get advice from ACAS or Citizens Advice. You can refuse to accept the change if you have a good reason, and your employer normally can’t make you accept.

But the rules are complicated. Working Families has a useful article on the law when an employer asks you to change your hours. And gov.uk has general information about changes to employment contracts and conditions of work.

Useful links

ACAS – free and independent employment law advice on lots of topics

Working Families – advice for working parents

Maternity Action – free advice and information on your rights while you’re pregnant, on maternity leave and going back to work

Date last updated: 28 June 2023

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