Adoptive parents to earn 12 month`s leave

Working people who adopt a child will be entitled to a full
year’s leave under a new deal announced by trade and industry
secretary Stephen Byers.

From 2003, working parents who adopt a child will be entitled to
another six months’ unpaid leave on top of the six months’ paid
entitlement announced in the March Budget.

The new deal will give adoptive parents similar workplace rights
to other parents.

It will allow an adoptive couple to choose which parent takes
time off, and the other parent will be entitled to two weeks paid
‘paternity’ leave. All fathers will be entitled to two weeks paid
paternity leave from 2003.

Byers said: “Balancing work and home life is difficult for all
parents, but especially for those who adopt a child. These new
rights will help keep adoptive parents in the workplace who might
otherwise be forced to leave.”

The moves follow the government’s consultation green paper
Work and Parents: Competitiveness and Choice.