Earlier this month, the Chancellor George Osbourne announced that the Government is planning to extend Shared Parental Leave (SPL) to include grandparents by 2018. However, this will only affects working grandparents (non-working grandparents aren’t likely to meet the eligibility criteria).
Given the fact that 2 million grandparents have given up work, reduced their hours or taken time off to help cut down childcare costs, this extension to SPL will be welcomed by working families.
The planned changes recognises the crucial role grandparents play in providing childcare hence it will increase flexibility and choice in parental leave arrangements and support working parents with the costs of childcare during the first year of a child’s life.
The government will consult on the details in the first half of next year.
For more information on the current SPL provision please see SPL ‘Shared Parental Leave: in a nutshell’.
As always if I can provide you with assistance on queries relating to family friendly rights or any other issue, please do not hesitate to contact me for a free consultation on 0113 350 4030 orsamira.cakali@scesolicitors.co.uk.
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