Parental Allowance: weekly payments

About Parental Allowance

Parental Allowance is paid weekly to help you take time off work to have time to prepare or care for your child.  It’s paid for a maximum of 32 weeks which can be shared with up to two parents. 

The current rate for Parental Allowance is £265.93 per week, paid directly into your bank account. The amount is not increased if you have twins or triplets.

In addition to the Parental Allowance, we also offer another benefit called Parental Grant. 

You need to submit your Parental Benefit claim form no later than 6 months after the date of your Child being born.

Parental Grant: single payment

How to claim Parental Allowance

Your midwife or social worker will fill in the first part of the online form with the relevant details. Your midwife or social worker will then email you a link to the form and you must fill in the rest of it.    

This should be done shortly after your 28 week midwife appointment or the date of intention to adopt is set.

Eligibility for Parental Allowance

Your Parental Allowance is based on your Social Security contributions.    

We look back 1 year from the due date of your baby and if you have paid contributions (or had contributions credited, for example, in the case of compulsory redundancy and some other health benefits. Contact the department directly should you need to clarify which other benefits) for that period, you're likely to be entitled to some or all of the Parental Allowance.

Paying contributions in another country

If you’ve paid Social Security contributions in another country during your relevant period, you may be eligible based on these contributions. Contact the Health Zone to find out more.

When your Parental Allowance can start

You can choose to start your Parental Allowance anywhere between 11 weeks before your due date and up to your due date or date of intention to adopt is set.

You must have finished work for your Parental Allowance to start.

How does it work

Parental Allowance is a weekly payment paid in arrears, for each parent, for the weeks that they take the leave.

Where there are two parents on a claim the allowance is payable to:

• parent 1: for 6 weeks (if birth mother, they must take six weeks immediately after the child’s birth)
• parent 2: for 6 weeks at anytime in the two year period following the date of birth of the child or the date of intent to adopt
  

An additional 20 weeks is available to be shared between the parents as and when they choose within the two year period following the child’s date of birth or date of intent to adopt.

Parents can take their allocation of 32 weeks in a maximum of three blocks per person, spread out over a two year period, up to the child’s second birthday, or two years after the adoption.

Each block must be at least 14 days long, and there must be at least 14 days between your blocks.  Where there are two parents on a claim they can choose to take their allowance at the same time, or at different times, and their blocks may overlap.

For example

• parent one takes 6 compulsory weeks following date of birth
• parent two takes 6 weeks at any point
• each parent now has 2 blocks left to take the 20 weeks remaining
  
• each parent is free to split the remaining 20 weeks, for example:
  
• parent one could take all 20 in maximum of 2 blocks, or
• split with parent one and two equally with 10 weeks each with a maximum of 2 blocks each, or 
• parent one takes one week and parent two takes 19 weeks, or

If parents are in dispute and cannot agree an allocation of weeks between themselves, we will divide the weeks equally between both parents, 16 weeks each. If there is only one parent on the claim the total allowance will be 32 weeks. 

Working and claiming Parental Allowance: ‘keeping in touch’ time

You can’t work and claim Parental Allowance at the same time, however you are allowed to go into work to 'Keep in touch'. ‘Keeping in touch’ time allows you to stay in touch with your work place while you’re off work to prepare or care for a child.   

During your Parental Allowance claim, you:

• can only work for up to 14 hours in any week
• can only work for a maximum of 70 hours in total
• cannot undertake any work in the first 6 weeks following birth if you are the birth mother

What counts as a 'keeping in touch' time

‘Keeping in touch’ time is counted each time you attend work. For example, a half day training course or a 1 hour meeting would count as keeping in touch time.

Babies born early

If your baby is born early and you've already given up work and started your Parental leave, your Parental Allowance won't be affected.

You won’t be able to claim Parental Allowance if your pregnancy lasts less than 24 weeks, unless a living child is born.

Babies born after their due dates

You don’t need to do anything if your baby is born late, we will automatically update your record.

Protecting your contribution record while claiming Parental Allowance

If you qualify for Parental Allowance, we’ll credit your Social Security contribution record for the same periods as your Parental Allowance payments.

Contribution credits protect your record as though contributions had been paid. They help your entitlement to benefits in the future.

Payment of contributions

Home responsibility protection credits 

You may be able to protect your entitlement to a pension and Survivor’s Benefit with Home Responsibility Protection credits.

You can get these credits if you’re planning to:

• not return to work
• take unpaid leave
• work less than 20 hours per week
  

Home Responsibility Protection credits don’t cover you for sickness or future maternity benefits.    

Contribution credits for parents working 20 hours or less: Home Responsibility Protection

Claiming Parental Allowance and Income Support

If you claim Income Support and start claiming Parental Allowance, your Income Support will be reduced by the amount of your Parental Allowance award. This is because Parental Allowance is considered as income.

Income Support

Claiming Parental Allowance and other benefits

You can’t receive Parental Allowance and another contributory benefit at the same time.

Contributory benefits include:

• Short Term Incapacity Allowance
  
• Long Term Incapacity Allowance
  
• Home Carer's Allowance
• Incapacity pension
  
• Survivors benefit

If you're outside of Jersey

If you're in another country and Jersey has a health agreement with that country which includes parental benefits, we may be able to pay Parental Allowance.    

Speak to one of our advisors in the Health Zone if you’re planning on either having a baby or adopting outside of Jersey.

Contact Health Zone on +44 (0) 1534 444444.

If you disagree with our decision or you don’t understand it

If you've applied for, or are claiming Parental Allowance, and you think our decision is wrong, you can:

1. ask us to explain our decision to you. You can call us, email, write a letter or come into Customer and Local Services to discuss your claim
   
2. if you’re unhappy with this explanation, (or if you prefer), you have 21 days from the date you receive the decision letter to ask us to reconsider your claim and check our calculations. This is called a redetermination
   
3. if you're unhappy with the result of your redetermination, you can appeal to an independent tribunal. You have 14 days from the date you receive your redetermination award or decision letter to submit your appeal
   

Changes in your circumstances

If you would like to request to remove/add or a amend a leave period, you must notify us 28 days before the start date of the relevant leave block.

You must give us 28 days’ notice if you wish to change your payment periods and you must notify us of any changes to your circumstances.

Tell us about your change in circumstance