Chancellor extends parental leave to working grandparents

Grandparents who give up work to look after their grandchildren will be able to claim a weekly childcare allowance, under new plans set out by chancellor George Osborne.

From 2018, parents will have the option to transfer a share of their parental leave pay to grandparents providing childcare.

Only working grandparents will be eligible to claim the allowance, which is valid for the first year after a child is born.

Grandparents who take leave will also be given greater flexibility in working arrangements, including the right to claim back their job after one year.

Charity Grandparents Plus welcomed the plans.

Dr Lucy Peake, chief executive of Grandparents Plus, said, ‘The Government’s announcement to extend shared parental leave and pay to working grandparents is great news for families.

‘Working parents up and down the country rely on the seven million grandparents who are providing care for their children, and we welcome the Government’s recognition of grandparents’ vital caring role as well as the introduction of greater choice for families about balancing child care and work.

‘We know that 1 in 3 working parents depend on grandparents for childcare while their children grow up, and two million say they would give up work if grandparents were unable to care for their children. At the same time, people are working longer. We need to take action to enable grandparents to combine work and care.

‘Giving working grandparents the right to flexible working and entitlement to leave to care for their grandchildren as they grow up would make a huge difference to families and to the economy.’  

Since April this year, parents have been able to split 50 weeks of shared parental leave before their child’s first birthday.

The plans draw on existing funds so that for every grandparent who takes up the allowance, a parent will give it up.