Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether their Department offers its staff shared parental leave from their first working day.

No. The Civil Service Management Code states that, ‘Departments and agencies may only grant shared parental leave in accordance with the statutory requirements governing eligibility for this category of leave.’ Some staff may qualify for statutory shared parental leave of their first day of service qualifying service includes employment with another civil service organisation.

As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in preparation for when the Employment Rights Bill 2024 comes into effect.