(1) Parents shall be entitled to leave of absence pursuant to the provisions of this section and of sections 12-2 and 12-4 for a total of 12 months. When parental benefits are paid by the National Insurance, parents shall be entitled to leave of absence regardless.(2) In addition to leave of absence pursuant to the first paragraph, each of the parents is entitled to leave of absence for up to 12 months for each birth. This leave must be taken immediately after the parents' leave of absence pursuant to the first paragraph. An employee who has a partial leave of absence pursuant to section 12-6 is nevertheless not entitled to leave of absence pursuant to this paragraph.(3) Unless the child is in the care of both parents, the right to leave of absence pursuant to the first paragraph may be exercised by another person taking care of the child. An employee who has sole responsibility for the care of a child shall be entitled to leave of absence pursuant to the second paragraph for a period of up to two years.(4) Adoptive parents and foster parents shall be entitled to leave of absence pursuant to this section when taking over responsibility for the care of the child. The same shall apply to an employee who has or is assigned parental responsibility upon the death of the other parent and has had less than the usual access to the child. The right to leave of absence shall not apply when adopting stepchildren or when the child is over 15 years of age.
