Types of Leave

From sickness to professional development, there are various reasons why employees might request time out from work. While some leave types have to be granted under law, others depend on the workers’ circumstances and your discretion as an employer.

With that said, it’s vital to understand the types of work leave entitlements for the suitable arrangement of support and continuity.

Read on as we highlight the statutory entitlements, as well as family-friendly and other types of leaves specific to UK employers.

Statutory leave types in the UK

Annual leave

Also known as holiday entitlement, annual leave grants nearly all employees 5.6 weeks of paid holiday each year. This includes agency workers, those with irregular hours, and employees whose workloads vary from one month to the next.

• Employer obligations: Ensure staff receive their full entitlement and record leave accurately.

• Risk: Underpayment or refusal can lead to tribunal claims.

• Tip: Use clear policies to explain accrual, carryover, and bank holiday rules.

Maternity leave 

A leave period of up to 52 weeks must be granted to an employee having a baby. This is to be split into the following categories: 

• Ordinary maternity leave: covering the first 26 weeks 

• Additional maternity leave: covering the last 26 weeks 

Your staff aren’t required to take their full maternity leave entitlement. However, they’re legally obliged to take two weeks leave after the baby is born, or four weeks if they work in a factory. 

The required level of maternity leave payment will depend on the employee’s average pay 8 weeks leading up to the 15th week before their due date. The employer must pay at least 90% of their average weekly earnings (before tax) for the first six weeks. A weekly payment of £187.18 or 90% of average weekly earnings—whichever is lower—must then be paid for the remaining 33 weeks. 

• Employer obligations: Honour notice requirements and ensure payroll is updated. 

• Risk: Mishandling maternity leave can lead to discrimination claims. 

• Tip: Train managers to understand pregnancy and maternity rights.

Paternity leave

An employee who is the father, partner, or second parent in a same-sex relationship of an expectant mother is entitled to two weeks of paternity leave following the birth, adoption, or surrogacy of their children. 

While some may take a single week, the entire paternity break can be taken in one block or separately.  

Employees taking paternity leave must give the employer notice of their eligibility to take paternity leave by the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth, and then given 28 days’ notice of when they want to take the leave. 

The level of paternity leave payment is either £187.18 per week or 90% of their average weekly earnings depending on which is lower. 

• Employer obligations: Pay Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) if eligibility is met. 

• Risk: Refusing leave could result in tribunal action. 

• Tip: Include paternity leave rights in contracts and staff handbooks.

Shared Parental leave

Shared Parental Leave can only be accessed if the mother ends her maternity leave early and transfers the remaining entitlement to be shared with her partner. An employee may opt to share the remaining parental leave with their partner, with such a request requiring at least 8 weeks’ notice. If the child is born more than 8 weeks early, this notice period can be shorter. 

Eligibility requirements: Both parents must meet specific eligibility criteria, including employment and earnings tests. The mother must be entitled to maternity leave or pay, and the partner must have worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks and earned above the lower earnings limit. 

• Employer obligations: Handle requests fairly and in line with notice requirements. 

• Risk: Refusal can create discrimination claims. 

• Tip: Keep records of all requests to avoid disputes 

Parental leave

Whether to spend more time together or explore school options, parents can take unpaid leave for the care of their children. 

The employer may only grant unpaid parental leave if the parent has been working for the company for a year or more. Such a request must also be made at least 3 weeks before the proposed leave period. 

Leave entitlement: Parents are entitled to up to 18 weeks leave for each child up to their 18th birthday. However, this leave must be taken in blocks of whole weeks and is subject to a maximum of 4 weeks per year unless the employer agrees to different arrangements. 

• Employer obligations: Consider requests fairly and provide valid business reasons for any postponement 

• Risk: Unlawful refusal can lead to tribunal claims 

• Tip: Have clear policies on how requests are assessed and when postponement may be justified

Adoption leave

An employee may be entitled to take paid adoption leave if they are going to adopt or have a child through surrogacy. However, the adoption leave of 52 weeks may only be taken by one parent, with the other having to take entitled parent leave or shared parental leave.

Financial cover for adoption will last for 39 weeks, with the parent being granted 90% of their average weekly earnings before tax for the first 6 weeks. A further payment of £187.18 or 90% of their average weekly earnings—depending on which is lower must be made for the remaining 33 weeks.

• Employer obligations: Honour requests and manage payroll accordingly.

• Tip: Treat adoption leave with the same processes as maternity leave.

Sick leave

When employees are ill, they have a statutory entitlement to pay. Employers are free to take action against absence, subject to disability considerations. However, employees must provide evidence if the absence is to be authorized for more than seven days, typically in the form of a fit/sick note signed by the employee’s GP. 

A fit note will make it an ‘authorized’ period of leave, but this doesn’t constitute a legal entitlement to the leave itself rather, it supports the employee’s entitlement to statutory sick pay during the absence. 

If the period of illness falls before or whilst on a scheduled holiday, employees can take authorized sick leave instead and use their annual leave another time. If an employee is sick for more than 4 weeks, this may be considered long-term sick.  

• Employer obligations: As from 6 April 2025, businesses must pay a minimum of £118.75 per week for statutory sick pay. Currently, employees must meet the Lower earnings limit (LEL) to qualify for statutory sick pay from the fourth day of absence, with more potentially being granted through company schemes. 

• Compliance risk: Failure to pay SSP correctly risks unlawful deduction claims. 

• Policy tip: Have a clear sickness reporting process and define whether contractual sick pay is offered.

Carer’s Leave

Employees are entitled to unpaid carer’s leave for the direct care or arrangement of support for a ‘dependant’ with:

●     A physical or mental illness or injury that lasts more than three months

●     A disability as defined in the Equality Act 2010

●     Care needs because of old age

An employee may take up to a week off every 12 months for such provision of care. This may be split into whole or half days, as needed.

Any request for a whole or half day should be made at least three days in advance, with longer requests requiring double the notice period.

Neonatal Care Leave 

From 6 April 2025, employees have a day-one right to up to 12 weeks of paid time off when their baby requires neonatal care. This applies to babies born on or after 6 April 2025 who spend at least 7 consecutive days in hospital-based or specialized medical care within their first 28 days of life. The leave is in addition to maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave entitlements. 

Statutory Neonatal Care Pay requires 26 weeks continuous employment and earnings above £125 per week, paid at £187.18 per week or 90% of average weekly earnings (whichever is lower). Leave must be taken within 68 weeks of birth. Each parent has a separate entitlement, and leave can be taken flexibly during the care period or in continuous blocks afterward. 

• Employer obligations: Establish clear policies, handle requests sensitively, ensure payroll systems can process payments, and provide job security protections. Consider enhancing statutory provision if you enhance other parental leave. The Government estimates around 60,000 new parents will benefit annually. 

•  Compliance risk: Failure to provide correct leave or pay risks tribunal claims and discrimination allegations. 

Download our guide for more information

Study / Training leave

Study leave allows employees to take time away from work for training or education that supports their job role.
Employers should be aware of who is entitled to a study leave within the organisation

• 16–17 year olds – Under the Right to Time Off for Study or Training Regulations 1999 (SI 1999/986), young employees who have not yet achieved the prescribed qualification standard are entitled to reasonable paid time off for study or training.

• Adults (18+) – Employees in organisations with 250+ staff have the right under Section 63D of the Employment Rights Act 1996 to request unpaid time off for study or training that improves their job performance.

Time off for dependants (Emergency leave)

A worker must be allowed time off in the event of an emergency involving a dependant. This may be the case if a close family member falls ill and depends on the employee for support. 

While there’s no limit on the amount of time that may be granted, you might request a meeting if you feel that the employee’s work is being negatively impacted.

It is your choice as an employer whether to provide financial cover in the event of time off for dependants. Such policies might be detailed in the employee’s contract or your company handbook. 

• Employer obligations: Allow reasonable time off for emergencies.

• Tip: Define “emergency” clearly to prevent misuse.

Time off for Public duties & Jury service

Under Section 50 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, employees are entitled to take reasonable time off work to carry out approved public duties, such as serving as a magistrate, local councillor, or school governor. The statutory right is unpaid time off. Employers may choose to pay for this leave under contracts or internal policies, but it is not required by law.
For Jury service,

• If an employee is summoned for jury service, you must allow them time off, employers cannot refuse.

• Employers are not legally required to pay during jury service.

• Employees can claim loss of earnings, travel, and subsistence from the court if the employer does not cover pay.

Other types of work leave

Compassionate and bereavement leave

Most employees will experience the death of someone close to them during their working lives. Compassionate or bereavement leave can be given to an employee following the loss of a family member or for life-changing emergencies.

There is currently no statutory right for bereavement leave in general circumstances. Employers aren’t legally required to provide financial cover for compassionate or bereavement leave. However, you may opt to do so as a means of worker support.

The key statutory exception is Parental Bereavement Leave, which offers up to two weeks paid leave to parents for the death of a child up to 18 years old. This is a legal entitlement with statutory pay protection

Garden leave

The period during which an employee, who is leaving your company, is still under contract but is not required to work. They’re effectively kept out of the workplace while still receiving their usual pay and benefits.

Employers use garden leave for various reasons. but particularly for when they are concerned about an employee moving to a competitor. You can only place an employee on garden leave if their contract explicitly allows it. The duration of garden leave can range from weeks to months, but typically aligns with the employee’s notice period.

Sabbatical leave

Sabbatical leave is an extended period of time away from work, usually lasting several weeks to a year, that allows employees to focus on personal development, study, travel, volunteering, or rest. In the UK, there is no statutory right to sabbatical leave. Sabbaticals are a matter of employer policy or contractual agreement, not employment law. and are mostly unpaid unless otherwise stated in the contractual agreement.

Employer Checklist – Leave Compliance at a Glance

How BrightHR can help

Hopefully, you’ll now have a better understanding of the leave types and entitlements that apply in the UK.

If you’d like further information about the different types of statutory leave then you should click on the links under the areas of interest. This will give you a better chance of navigating the types of work leave with clarity and fairness.

Of course, it’s impossible to predict when employees will fall ill or must care for loved ones.

However, you can make the arrangement of leave that much easier and less stressful with BrightHR’s attendance and absence management software.