Any NHS HR that can advise me about parental leave?

[Henryonthebeach]

Long time lurker, first time poster

I work for the NHS (clinical) and my DD is due to have an operation in the new year, she's been on the waiting list since before COVID and I've been open with bosses about it. It's an elective surgery but I've always been told she needs to have it done (congenital abnormality).

I've been given 18 days notice of the op by the hospital, if I turn the date down she goes back on the list but it could be ages. This date works for her because she is in year 9 so it will be done before it interferes with school too much.

Surgeon said she may need around 3-4 weeks off school. I'm a single parent with another child. My manager rang HR who said that I would have to use annual leave, carers leave (I've used 2 days so I've got 2 days left) or apply for parental leave which allows 1 week unpaid leave apparently in my trust.

With remaining annual leave and the 2 days carers leave I've got one week off, I really don't want to take unpaid leave, is there anything else I could ask for? Her dad says he may be able to help, he won't give me anything concrete though so that doesn't help my stress level.

I know I could self cert for a further week off but I work in a very small team with huge pressures on us and I would rather allow my manager to plan everything and adjust lists etc. Hopefully she will be fine, her dad will help and she will go back to school after 2 weeks but I need to plan for alternatives.

TIA

I’m not in the NHS but I know you are entitled to 4 weeks parental leave a year per child. Hope that helps.

In our NHS service you get 4 weeks paid parental leave per year.

I understand parental leave entitlement is set nationally not locally by the NHS.

My NHS Trust also tried to fudge the rules and I pointed out to the gov.uk entitlements and they have updated the Trust policy.

We get one paid week off per child per year under the parental leave policy - I’m surprised you don’t get any paid parental leave OP. Have you checked the policy? You do have the legal right to unpaid parental leave but I understand you don’t want to lose your salary.

I have discretion as a manager (NHS) to give my team special leave which has a number of categories - I can’t remember off the top of my head what they are but I would find one that covered this. How flexible is your manager - would they be prepared to give you special leave? If not, then I would go with a self cert for 7 days then sick leave if absolutely necessary. Would you be able to work from home for some of the time? I know that under normal circumstances this isn’t allowed but these are extenuating.

I have seen this 4 weeks paid parental leave when googling but apparently my trust don't offer that. That would be ideal!!

My manager is brand new and has zero support, they probably aren't aware of all the different ways you can give leave. I think I'll ring HR myself on Monday.

Alternatively could you fund a carer for some of the recovery time.

You are entitled to up to 18 weeks total leave before their 18th birthday per child. There is some guidance to say that the first 4 weeks of this should be paid but the 4 weeks paid need to be taken before their 14th birthday. However I have found that a lot of local nhs policies do not mention any paid element to this. If you are in a union I would seek advice from them.

Unfortunately paying for care isn't something I can afford. I'm sure I can sort something out, I just wanted to know what I could expect from my employer
The one I slug my guts out for daily without a single word of encouragement

Yes I saw the 4 weeks paid before the child's 14th birthday which would be perfect for me because she's 13.
I am in unison. I do think I'll need to chase this up, sometimes I feel like I'm totally fobbed off.

4 weeks per child per year. Mot sure how much notice you have to give. This us the option, other than defrauding by saying you are ill.

@Henryonthebeach I have had a very negative experience with HR and senior managers in my own trust and how they can try to reinterpret their own policies to suit. The unison rep in your organisation should be able to help and your membership may also entitle you to some free legal advice

I would definitely check with your union - I’ve had conflicting advice from HR staff over the years so I wouldn’t always trust them to be giving accurate advice. If your manager is new into post they may be unaware of the policies or have been given misinformation by the person they spoke to in HR - or they may have asked the question in a certain way in order to get the answer they wanted. Policies can be written in a slightly woolly way which leaves them open to interpretation.

Thanks for the unison advice. I will definitely ring my rep on Monday, just so I know what I'm entitled to if she doesn't recover as fast as I think she will.
For now I'll put some pressure on her dad for some commitment.