Anyone have experience of parental leave being declined? (UK)

I work at a large corporate and I have had my parental leave declined due to someone in my team also being off on parental leave. I thought it was my right to have it off regardless. This is the 4 weeks of unpaid leave many parents take to help cover school holidays etc. Apparently as no one can cover my work for a month is the reason but I didn't think this mattered for parental leave. Please help!
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They can’t refuse it outright, but they can postpone it. Have a word with Pregnant Then Screwed, they should be able to tell you what to do next.

https://www.acas.org.uk/parental-leave#:~:text=Employers%20cannot%20refuse%20or%20completely,the%20employee%20originally%20asked%20for.

https://pregnantthenscrewed.com

@Sharon thanks Sharon! I feel like I should have a hotline to pregnant then screwed 🥲. They've been fab though!

Your employer sounds like a real nightmare! Good luck, I hope you managed to get it sorted. X

They have to have a significant reason to decline it, such as it will cause serious disruption to the business. I would also check your company hand book to see if they stipulate any rules around parental leave x

@Sharon they said they "have the power to decline it". Nice right!? Claiming my work won't be done for a month but this is just an excuse for my new manager since returning from mat leave to be horrible. It will really impact me with childcare though!

Seems a bit off to allow one person to take all the time off on parental leave, and you get none!

@Rosie agreed! They're saying as hers is already approved ...I thought parental leave could be taken whenever!

I would definitely discuss this with ACAS

Just an fyi, please remember you only get 18 weeks for the first 18 years of their life and the maximum you can take in 1 year is 4 weeks…just bear in mind you’d only be able to do this for a few years before your entitlement is used up. As said they have to have a significant business reason to refuse, def contact pregnant then screwed as they’ll have the best advice xx

@April ah thank you I didn't know that! It's the first year I've requested it but seen it done for years. They're just being difficult because they can. I wonder if I speak to HR rather than my kine manager they might say something different....

Definitely speak to HR, have they refused in writing or has it all been verbal

@Robyn thank you for that. It'll be 7 days tomorrow actually! Just verbal so but my boss said she'd email but nothing has come through so far

If you have been working for more than a year, you have a right to request it. Their reason is that they are are awful at planning covers or they want to lay the conditions to make you quit. Document everything in writing. Contact the charity pregnant then screwed to get legal advice.

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