Require employers to offer career breaks for parents with a seriously ill child
This petition gathered 102,316 signatures between 2 June 2023 and 2 December 2023, according to the Parliament petitions site. The Government responded on 20 July 2023. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 3 February 2025.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Require employers to offer career breaks for parents with a seriously ill child
My daughter was diagnosed with Leukaemia. I became a full-time nurse overnight. My employer is unable to keep my job open so I have lost my job of 19 years. Employers should be required to grant special breaks for parents in this situation enabling them to return to their jobs afterwards.
Parents shouldn’t face losing their jobs on top of dealing with the possibility of losing their child. I feel this is the responsibility of the Government to protect the parents of seriously ill children, with no choice other than to drop everything to care for their children. Please, this needs to be addressed immediately. I have spoken to so many parents with caring responsibilities that are struggling financially, which then becomes a huge emotional burden and all this could be avoided if there was something in place to help desperate parents. This is URGENT!
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 20 July 2023; the petitions site lists the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade as responsible. Its summary:
The Government understands the difficulties and worry faced by parents of seriously ill children. We have no plans to introduce a right to take a career break in these circumstances.
The opening 228 words of the 652-word response:
The Government understands the difficulties, worry and challenges faced by parents with seriously ill children. While the Government is very sympathetic, it is not practical to provide a specific right to take time away from work to cover every challenging situation an employee may face.
Many employers are already very supportive when people find themselves in these situations,
The Government currently has no plans to introduce a specific right to take a career break for parents with seriously ill children.
However, the Government is supporting legislation which will provide support for parents, including those caring for ill children or facing other difficult circumstances.
The Government supported the Neonatal Care (leave and pay) Act 2023. Neonatal Leave and Pay will apply to parents of babies who are admitted into hospital up to the age of 28 days, and who have a continuous stay in hospital of seven full days or more. Eligible employed parents will be able to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave on top of their other parental entitlements such as Maternity and Paternity Leave. Neonatal Leave will be a ‘day one’ right meaning that it will be available to an employee from their first day in a new job. The Act received Royal Assent on the 24 May 2023. It will provide additional support to parents of seriously ill babies who require neonatal care.
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies on the boundaries used until the 2024 general election. The largest number, 2,096, came from Rayleigh and Wickford.
101,994 of the signatures were from the UK and 322 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures |
|---|---|
| Rayleigh and Wickford | 2,096 |
| Sittingbourne and Sheppey | 1,480 |
| Maldon | 1,324 |
| Castle Point | 1,304 |
| East Surrey | 1,066 |
| Ashford | 1,048 |
| Basildon and Billericay | 1,034 |
| Reigate | 978 |
| Mid Sussex | 917 |
| Wantage | 900 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| South East | 30,112 |
| East of England | 20,068 |
| London | 15,427 |
| West Midlands | 8,668 |
| South West | 7,356 |
| North West | 5,024 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 4,192 |
| Scotland | 3,556 |
| North East | 2,645 |
| East Midlands | 2,476 |
| Wales | 1,243 |
| Northern Ireland | 651 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 3 February 2025. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/638449.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
f02aad44759cdc08… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.