The EC Parental Leave Directive (96/34/EC) of 3rd June 1996 requires Member States to ensure that employers give a minimum of three months unpaid leave to both mothers and fathers after the birth of a child. Adoptive parents of children up to eight years old must have the same right (see notes at Adoption leave ).

Dismissing a person for taking or applying for parental leave must be unfair dismissal (see Parental Leave Directive (96/34/EC) cl.2(4) of the annex).

The Directive also provides that workers must have right to time off "on grounds of force majeure for urgent family reasons in cases of sickness or accident making the immediate presence of the worker indispensable" (see the Parental Leave Directive (96/34/EC) cl.3 of the annex).

The Directive was extended to the UK by Council Directive 97/75/EC of 15th December 1997 which set 15th December 1999 as the last date for implementation in the UK.

Until 15th December 1999 UK law had no provision giving fathers the right to time off work, paid or unpaid, as "paternity leave". Individual employment contracts could do so (but this was not usual - in most cases, a father was simply expected to use up part of his normal holiday entitlement if he wished to take "paternity leave" - see HOLIDAYS ).

See notes at Parental leave for notes on British implementation of the directive and for further details generally.