Workers in Britain still have weaker entitlements to parental leave than their European counterparts, despite new laws that came into effect in January.

The Daycare Trust has reported that British childcare costs are the highest in Europe and that parental leave compares unfavourably with the more generous levels found in Germany or France (36 months). In some countries, such as Sweden, parents can even expect to get paid leave.

On the plus side, however, the new legislation does at least pave the way for more flexible and family-friendly policies. Their implementation in schools may well trigger debate and even test cases to balance parents’ rights against the demands of busy school agendas. Meanwhile, teacher shortages in certain parts of the UK could encourage newcomers to the profession to seek better packages from employers that help them to cope with the combined pressures of work and home. Certainly, some employers feel that more family-friendly initiatives reap definite benefits by decreasing casual sickness and helping to retain teaching staff.

The new arrangements cover parental leave and time off for emergencies.

After one year’s service with their employers, men and women can take up to 13 weeks’ unpaid leave, with a maximum of four weeks’ leave per year at any time up to their child’s fifth birthday; or, if the child has been adopted, up to the fifth anniversary of the adoption or the child’s 18th birthday - whichever is earlier. If a child has a disability, this period is increased to 18 weeks - up to the child’s 18th birthday - although employers can postpone this leave by up to six months if they consider that it is “unduly disruptive” to the organisation. This does not apply where leave begins on the date of childbirth or adoption. Clearly, difficulties could arise here because teachers could be asked to postpone their leave until the school holidays, thus avoiding the need for cover. Employees now also have a legal right to take a “reasonable” amount of unpaid time off to deal with emergencies involving dependants - this is separate from and additional to parental leave. There is no qualifying period of service for this leave and the period of time off allowed is “as long as it takes to deal with the immediate emergency”.

If, for example, your child falls ill, time should be allowed to visit the doctor and arrange for suitable care.

Many authorities already have arrangements for what is known as “special leave”. These usually include guidelines on granting extra leave for childcare. Some councils also offer contractual paternity arrangements. In some cases, these policies go further than the legal requirements by allowing for a certain amount of paid time off.

Schools can develop their own policies based on their authorities’ guidelines, but this allows for varied interpretations by individual heads.

Governing bodies can create anomalies even within the same school. For example, some heads feel that it is imperative to establish goodwill among staff who have childcare commitments - “It’s unfair to deny staff the pleasure of seeing their own child’s Christmas performance or penalise them if their children’s schools hold school-time meetings,” says one head.

Others feel that it is an integral part the teachers’ lot to sacrifice their own family commitments if there happens to be a clash with the school diary. Whether leave taken by school staff to care for a sick child should be paid or unpaid is very often left to a headteacher’s discretion, thus allowing for variable approaches to the issue of parental leave.

GET TO GRIPS WITH THE NEW LAW

* Check your school’s policy. Does it give guidance on the new leave arrangements? Does it offer additional (enhanced) provisions for parental leave?

* You usually need to give three weeks’ notice to take parental leave.

* If your school has provision for “special leave”, is this at the head’s discretion? Check how much time is paid and unpaid leave.

* Make sure that your head is aware of any individual childcare responsibilities you may have - for example, if you are a single parent or have a child with a disability or severe illness. You may be able to negotiate more favourable conditions should the need arise.

* Let your head know in advance about any dates in your child’s calendar - special assemblies, parents’ meetings, secondary transfer interviews and so on - so that they have time to arrange cover. There are heads out there who do understand your desire to balance the needs of school and family.

* If you feel you’ve been unfairly treated in being refused leave, you can appeal to an employment tribunal. If such a need arises, you should contact your union.