noun phrase · neutral

parental leave

/pəˈrɛntl liːv/pa·REN·tal LEAVE

Band 6-7speakingtask2

Time off work that parents are entitled to around the birth or adoption of a child.

Examples

Many countries now offer paid parental leave for both mothers and fathers.

He took parental leave to look after the newborn.

Debates around parental leave often appear in Task 2 essays about work–family balance.

Band 8 sentence

Extending paid parental leave to fathers as well as mothers can promote gender equality in childcare responsibilities.

Collocations

  • take parental leave
  • paid parental leave

Word family

parent nounparental adjectiveleave noun

Common mistakes

take a parental leavetake parental leave

parental permissionparental leave

Say it for a higher band

5time off after birth6maternity/paternity leave7+parental leave

Synonyms

maternity/paternity leave

Easily confused

maternity leave

She returned to work three months after her maternity leave ended.

Related words

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In Family & Relationships

Learn it with its set