Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, 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.’ However, some staff could qualify for statutory shared parental leave on their first day of service with a particular department because they already have service with another department.

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.

It may be helpful to explain that the Scotland Office does not employ staff directly. All staff that join do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other Government bodies, principally the Scottish Government and the Ministry of Justice, who remain the employers and determine the terms and conditions for their employees.