Special leave is a type of Parental Leave under the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987.
This statutory entitlement, to 10 days of
unpaid leave, is available to female Employees who are pregnant.
This leave is available before going on maternity leave, and is used for reasons in connection with the pregnancy.
No period of special leave taken by a female Employee shall be taken into account in assessing the period of maternity leave or the period of extended leave to which that female Employee or her spouse or partner is entitled to.
Please note that the old Holidays Act (1981) provided for a different type of ‘special leave’, which used to encompass ‘sick leave’ and ‘bereavement leave’ entitlements. The term ‘special leave’ under the old Holidays Act (1981) was replaced with ‘sick leave’ and ‘bereavement leave’ under the new Holiday Act 2003.
For more information please give us a call on 0800 15 8000.
For further information please see our
Annual Holidays and Leave e-book. This is available in the
Employers Toolbox online in the library section for our
Employer Support Package members.