New rules extend parental leave rights for surrogate parents

The parental leave rules have undergone many changes in recent years, which we have written about here and here.  

The new rules widen access to parental leave for alternative forms of parenting and mean that:

• Surrogate mothers are entitled to parental leave with parental leave benefits for four weeks before the birth and 10 weeks after the birth, without having to be with the child during the leave. Previously, this was conditional on being with the child
• Surrogate parents are each entitled to parental leave with parental leave benefits for 24 weeks from the child's birth. Previously, a child could only have one legal parent from birth
• Stepparents who adopt their partner's children are entitled to up to 32 weeks of parental leave, nine with parental leave benefits, to be taken within the first year. If the child is adopted within 10 weeks of the child's birth, the parent is entitled to up to two weeks of parental leave within the same 10 weeks. Previously, stepparents were only entitled to parental leave once the adoption was finalised

IUNO’s opinion

Companies need to be aware of the types of families that will gain rights under the new rules. The rules expand the circle of employees who can take parental leave and, therefore, also the circle of employees that companies can discriminate against.

IUNO recommends that companies review and update their contracts and parental leave policies to account for surrogate mothers, surrogate parents, and stepchild adopters.

[Act amending the Children Act, the Adoption Act, the Parental Responsibility Act, and various other acts of 30 December 2024]