Parents of seriously ill children should receive paid leave, commissioner says

Parents should not have to choose between staying beside a seriously ill child and keeping a job, Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza has said. She is calling for a legal right to 12 weeks of leave paid at 90% of normal earnings.

De Souza said families had described the “immense pressure” and lost income that follow a child’s debilitating illness. Parents told her they faced “impossible choices” as they divided their time between caring for seriously ill or disabled children and trying to remain in work.

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Parents should not be forced to choose between being at their seriously ill child's bedside and keeping their job.

She also backed a right to return to work after extended leave. In her view, that could help families whose children have complex or fluctuating needs stay employed while providing care. For unpaid carers, she called for annual leave to rise from five to 10 days and for a form of paid carers’ leave to be introduced.

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There’s no specific right that allows the parents to legally be by the bedside of the child in hospital.

The campaign has included Frances and Ceri Menai-Davis, whose six-year-old son Hugh died from cancer in 2021. They have argued for employment law to guarantee three months’ salary to parents whose children face serious physical or mental illness. Ceri Menai-Davis said, “There’s no specific right that allows the parents to legally be by the bedside of the child in hospital.”

The government is consulting on support for families and carers. Kate Dearden, minister for the future of work, said officials had been moved by families’ experiences and would consider how to strengthen employment rights and other support.

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Serious childhood illness is a heartbreaking situation for families.