Unpaid Parental Leave

[persianpeach]

Hello, this past summer I really struggled to get enough paid holiday time to be cover the 6 weeks school holidays, my husband and I kind of shared it which was okay but not ideal as we did want some time off altogether really.
I've seen on another post someone mentioning Unpaid Parental Leave and I'm wondering if this is the answer to my prayers?!
I've been on direct.gov but the information is very limited and of course there is no telephone number to contact them and ask any further questions.
Does anyone know anymore about this or has anyone been brave enough to ask for it?
I don't want to go to my manager being this uninformed. I suppose really I would like to know if you meet the requirements do employers have to agree to this?

Hello, I've used this. There is an entitlement to unpaid parental leave for children aged under 18, totalling 18 weeks during the childhood. Usually it has to be taken in whole weeks, unless the child receives disability benefits (when single days may be permitted for things like additional hospital appointments). You can request the unpaid parental leave and give your reasons. Your employer does not have to agree to the dates you requested if it would cause business problems, but cannot ask you to postpone the dates for more than (I think) 6 months. So yes, they do have to grant the leave, but they don't have to grant it on your requested dates.

I am fortunate that there are not many co-workers who are also parents in my company, so my taking an extra week during school holidays did not have an adverse impact on my team - in other companies, that might have been different, and they might not have been able to agree to the dates I needed.

As with all leave requests, all you can do is get your case together calmly and clearly, and with as much notice as possible. If you know it may cause particular consequences, then try and set out a plan for how you would manage those without disruption. Good luck!

The gov.uk information really is pretty comprehensive I think. Did you definitely read the right page?! Here.

It explains who is eligible, how much you get, restrictions on how much you can take in one year, how to go about booking it and under what circumstances employers can refuse the dates you want.

I too found the page to be pretty useful. I have asked for parental leave this year which was accepted (after much communication) however management were happy as were only a small team so it had a big impact.

Are there really no holiday clubs where you live?
I would be looking at using holiday clubs before asking for unpaid leave

I take unpaid parental leave every year as set out on that govt page. I take at least three weeks over the summer. Yes you can ask for it and they should grant it

Are there really no holiday clubs where you live?

You sound surprised. There are literally no holiday clubs where I live (a rural town) apart from a couple of nurseries which only cater up to 8yo. It means that annual leave is just for childcare and doesn't stretch fat enough even with two of us.