How is requesting four weeks’ unpaid parental leave after starting a new job viewed?

[Tryingtohelp12]

Hi
I’m currently in a FTC that finishes in May so on the look out for something new.

I’ve seen something I’d like to apply for but the issue is the summer holidays would start about 8 weeks after starting. I would need to request 4 weeks unpaid parental leave, as I have 3 children and my wage would not cover the cost of the childcare, plus due to my eldest sen needs he can’t go to a general summer club as it’s too overwhelming and can only go to family or my childminder (she’s known him since before he was 1), and last year she decided to cut down her working hours and only work 2 weeks in the holidays so she is unavailable for a big chunk of summer.

from 6 April requesting parental leave becomes a day 1 right but I just wanted opinions on how it will really be recieved?

They hired you for a job that needs doing, of course they aren’t going to look favourably on you for taking 4 weeks off. They then have to cover those 4 weeks.
I hate to say it, but it’s no wonder employers don’t want to employ women with young children.
I recognise it’s your right but it causes a massive headache for employers.

As a manager I would expect the request to be brought up at interview stage so that I can decide if we could have so eone off for that length of time when newly in a role.

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It’s not going to be viewed positively op.

We have a SEN child and we take a few days of AL a week each through summer. Also, can’t you ask his 1:1 TA if they’d be open to doing PA work over the summer? We use a team of TAs from DS’s school to fill the gaps.

Is it really worth it? Seems a lot of hassle for £25 a day. You could earn that working from home as a dog walker!

The challenge is doing a 4 week block. Its a full month with no one to do the job.

A better approach would be for you to ask for 2 weeks (preferably not together) and your DH/kids father to request the other two.

This might be worse for you financially if he's a bit better paid but that's not your employers problem and it's not fair for one employer to take all the burden.

Because the people who create policies aren't the people who run businesses.

I had an employee ask the very some and she has been employed for years. She had the right to request, and the business had the right to decline.

You should bring this up at intereview at the very least.

It’s a day one right to ASK and it would be viewed badly because no one consulted businesses on this. It’s not like new legislation comes in and suddenly the busiest period of the year in terms of annual leave requests is magically resolved for employers.

I am an employer. We are extremely flexible and family friendly. There is no way we would be able to accommodate a request like this and it would be turned down. I’d offer you two weeks instead as that is a reasonable amount of time for an employee to request over the summer holiday months, and I’d expect you to use annual leave if you have any untaken before unpaid parental leave. Employers can’t have people that essentially work when they feel like it because they can afford to take months of unpaid leave as well as their annual holiday allowance. The rostering would be a nightmare.

i would discuss all of this at interview as other businesses may be able to support more staff absence at once, but I definitely wouldn’t assume that day one right to ask means it’ll be granted. Businesses have the right to refuse on reasonable grounds and other team members being off with their children leaving staffing too low if you are off too is reasonable grounds.

I’d be sympathetic to the childcare problem but I’d also think you were a bit crackers thinking you could take extended leave over the time of year everyone is off, paid or otherwise.

Because I have 3 dc and so do lots of my colleagues and we pay for childcare. We’re really flexible but you do pay for summer holidays and that means lower take home which balances out over the year. I hate it when people behave like their dc are more important than everyone else’s.

At the beginning of the contract you can of course negotiate but I wouldn’t expect it every year.

she’s out of pocket £25 a day when paying for childcare.
holiday clubs are cheaper but depends on ages of dc.

You need to look at this realistically.

employers will normally support a good employee who has some positive work history with the organisation under their belt. The employee doesn't have to wait 2 years for the right to request UPL, so for example if they've had a positive few months' start to the employment relationship, going to their employer with a request like this is likely to be met favourably. They have built the relationship, their work is good and the employer wants to keep them.

they will have no incentive to even consider your request if you're a random unknown who is applying for a job. They are unlikely to put you on a shortlist knowing that's your mindset.

can you afford to let your FTC end, take a couple of months to look for a new job over the summer with a likely start date in Sept. You'll then have a meaningful
amount of time to build up some work history before requesting UPL next year.

ETA you'll also potentially be up against established employees asking for leave over the summer, or who are term time workers. Their needs will be prioritised so anyone new coming in, asking for time off over the summer will be declined as the employer has the right to decline due to business reasons (staff shortage over the summer).

I know. That’s why I mentioned the sector I worked in. We do need to balance books, but not make a profit. Many public sector organisations face challenging budgets, so it works in their favour to grant unpaid leave rather than “sick leave” which costs them. We’re all given the opportunity to purchase additional leave at the start of the leave, which again helps with their budget, and helps those with family commitments.

At the moment, the market is really quite tough, you don't have an interview or a feel for the place to know how family friendly they are.
I also personally think the first few months are about really getting your foot in the door, meeting people and understanding how the company works.
Is there a reason why you and your husband can't split the leave and do two weeks unpaid each?
You also don't have as many rights as you will be on probation. Is this likely to happen every summer too when there will be high demand for leave from all team members?
I feel it could be a bit of a dicey time as there not fully invested in you yet.

Most employers will ask if you have leave requirements booked at interview.

Has your partner already booked his summer holiday? Are you trying to then cover the remaining 4 weeks school break?
speak to your childminder and see what she can offer and hopefully she can do two weeks even if they’re split.

then plan to take your two weeks around that.

that way you’ll only be asking for two weeks annual leave at interview saving parental leave for emergencies ( which it is usually needed for )

you have nothing to lose by asking.

I am Head of a department and it will have a lot to do with the hiring manager and the company culture - for me as a manager, I have no issue with flexible working and will accommodate whatever I can but would prefer it to be brought up at interview (like any flexible working request). The company I work for is very pro flexible working so they would also likely not have issue with it but other companies I worked for would have baulked at it.

Very poorly, particularly if you’re going to try to use this to get all the summer holiday off which would give the impression you’re going to try to do that every year. Unless it’s the sort of work that is really quiet over the holidays that’s just not going to happen for very obvious reasons, parental leave is not intended to cover holiday childcare. Remember you have a right to ask, but employers also have a right to delay the dates for business reasons, which would include having too many staff off.

Without a doubt it would be better received once you are in place and proved you are reliable and also when it's not summer holidays and others are off. Why not use your AL at summer and request the parental at a quieter time (christmas, or a half term or easter)?

I actually don't think that asking would be viewed badly. But I think it's unlikely they'd agree to it.

Your better option, if you need to ensure it's covered, is to say you can't start until X date. Ask cm to do the last two weeks of the holiday period, dh does the one before that with his al, you start the job that week, halfway through the holiday period. So, mid August, which isn't too bad for a waiting period - public sector take forever to start people anyway.

Then, put in your request for next year and take it from there.

The al could also be refused though. Especially not long after joining because a) others will have booked the time, and b) she won't have accrued it (and employers are allowed to limit leave to what's accrued in the first year).

It’s worth having a conversation with them about this. Some public sector (like mine) offers term time working so I’m used to managing staff who are off for the whole of the summer hols.

You need to consider your annual wage for funding the childcare in the school holidays, not just what you would earn over the six weeks. Do you have a husband/partner who could share their annual leave or take parental leave? I can’t imagine announcing you need four weeks off in peak summer when you have just started will do you many favours longer term whether you are now entitled to request it or not. Would you expect the same next year?

I don't understand why this question needs asking. Surely it's obvious?

Being a right is different to it being allowed! You can ask of course but the job market is so competitive right now, I expect they'd just choose another person who can start and not take leave.

There are times in working parents lives when the cost of childcare is greater than our take home pay - it is often only for a short period and have to budget for this to get the medium and long term gain.
Unfortunately it might mean you and partner are not off together. Happens a lot in NHS where one parent does days and the other works nights.