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GRI 401: Employment·Disclosure GRI 401-3

Parental leave

Practical guidance for preparing this disclosure. Use this card to identify the information to prepare, verify claims and organise supporting evidence. For exact requirements, always refer to the official Global Reporting Initiative source.

Legal status

GRI 401: Employment 2016 remains the currently applicable published Standard. The GSSB approved the final draft of GRI 107: Working Parents and Caregivers 2027 in June 2026, but its effective date has not yet been determined and formal publication has been paused until 2027. Organizations should continue to apply GRI 401-3 until the new Standard and transition provisions are officially published.

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Published passport

Last reviewed 2026-08-03
RK Reviewed by Dr Ross KurinkoLinkedIn Strategic ESG Advisor · IFRS S1 & S2 / GRI / ESRS expert GRI Certified Global Trainer · PhD, University of Cambridge · ESG-AI expert 15+ years on FTSE 100 & Fortune Global 500 disclosures Canary Wharf, London LRA educational guidance · Not issued or endorsed by Global Reporting Initiative

Standard

GRI 401: Employment

Disclosure GRI 401-3 · 2016

Effective

2018-07-01

Official source: Open ↗

Last reviewed

2026-08-03

LRA educational guidance · Not issued or endorsed by Global Reporting Initiative

To prepare this disclosure
3LRA preparation fields 3claims to verify 3evidence areas

Disclosure focus

Disclosure 401-3 requires an organization to report parental-leave entitlement, take-up, return-to-work outcomes and 12-month retention outcomes, with every required number and rate broken down by gender.

The organization must report the number of employees entitled to parental leave, the number who took parental leave, the number who returned to work during the reporting period after their leave ended, and the number who remained employed 12 months after returning.

GRI recommends calculating the return-to-work rate by dividing the number of employees who returned by the number of employees who were due to return after parental leave. Do not use all employees who took leave as the denominator, because some may not yet have been due to return.

GRI recommends calculating the retention rate by dividing the number of employees who remained employed 12 months after returning by the number of employees who returned from parental leave in the relevant prior reporting period or periods. The retention cohort must include only employees for whom the full 12-month follow-up period has elapsed.

The different measures do not necessarily represent one single cohort. Employees taking leave, employees returning and employees reaching the 12-month retention point can belong to different reporting periods.

Parental leave should not be treated as synonymous with broader family-related or caregiver leave. Where internal HR systems use broader leave categories, map and document only the cases that meet the applicable parental-leave definition.

The disclosure applies to employees. Worker categories should be included or excluded according to the applicable employment relationship rather than by arbitrary contract labels.

If a required gender breakdown cannot be reported, apply the relevant reason for omission in the GRI content index.

This LRA educational guidance supports disclosure preparation. For the exact requirements, always refer to the official Global Reporting Initiative source.

Before you start

Before you start

A quick mental checklist before you prepare this disclosure — tick each as you settle it.

Preparation

Key information to prepare

Preparation field What to capture Evidence hint Owner
Working table 1: Gender Prepare and reconcile these columns: Gender; Employees entitled to parental leave; Employees who took parental leave. Approved source records, calculation files and review evidence supporting working table 1: gender. People / HR / Sustainability Reporting
Working table 2: Gender Prepare and reconcile these columns: Gender; Employees due to return during the period; Employees who actually returned; Return-to-work rate, %. Approved source records, calculation files and review evidence supporting working table 2: gender. People / HR / Sustainability Reporting
Working table 3: Gender Prepare and reconcile these columns: Gender; Employees who returned in the applicable prior period and reached the 12-month point; Employees still employed 12 months after return; Retention rate, %. Approved source records, calculation files and review evidence supporting working table 3: gender. People / HR / Sustainability Reporting
＋ Show GRI 401-3 sub-elements (LRA working checklist)

How to prepare it

Disclosure 401-3 requires an organization to report parental-leave entitlement, take-up, return-to-work outcomes and 12-month retention outcomes, with every required number and rate broken down by gender.
Collect and reconcile the records for: Working table 1: Gender; Working table 2: Gender; Working table 3: Gender.
Apply Disclosure 401-3 when the related topic is material and the disclosure is applicable under the relevant GRI Standard.
Draft the response using the defined terms shown in the disclosure focus; do not substitute broader internal labels.
Review the final wording against every requirement and the supporting governance or data records before sign-off.

Request the data

Request the disclosure evidence

Translate the disclosure into an internal business question — then adapt it to your organisation's own language.

Provide the reporting-period records and reconciliations for Disclosure 401-3: Working table 1: Gender; Working table 2: Gender; Working table 3: Gender. Include scope, definitions, methods, assumptions, limitations, owners and approvals.

Use the organisation's own role and document names, but preserve the defined GRI terms and the scope described above.

Better request

Provide the reporting-period records and reconciliations for Disclosure 401-3: Working table 1: Gender; Working table 2: Gender; Working table 3: Gender. Include scope, definitions, methods, assumptions, limitations, owners and approvals.

Draft your disclosure

Notes that turn data into a disclosure

LRA training templates — adapt them to your organisation, and check the official source before sign-off.

Method note

If a required gender breakdown cannot be reported, apply the relevant reason for omission in the GRI content index.

Context note

Keep mandatory GRI Requirements, GRI recommendations and additional LRA preparation controls clearly distinguished. Apply a GRI 1 reason for omission where required information cannot be reported.

Download Centre

Preparation tools & forms

Professional preparation tools for GRI 401-3 — free with an LRA Community membership. Register once (it's free) and every download unlocks, together with the Disclosure Library, templates and the LRA AI Assistant.

Free · Community members
01XLSPrep & Assurance workbookDatapoints, risks, evidence to check, owner and evidence pack.Get it free ↧ 02XLSData-request packRequest email, message template, response fields and sign-off structure.Get it free ↧ 03PDFLibrary CardPrintable one-page summary of this disclosure card.Get it free ↧

Assurance readiness

For each claim, check the evidence

Claim Risk Evidence to check
Working table 1: Gender is reported accurately and completely.The response omits, misclassifies or overstates working table 1: gender.Approved source records, calculation files and review evidence supporting working table 1: gender.
Working table 2: Gender is reported accurately and completely.The response omits, misclassifies or overstates working table 2: gender.Approved source records, calculation files and review evidence supporting working table 2: gender.
Working table 3: Gender is reported accurately and completely.The response omits, misclassifies or overstates working table 3: gender.Approved source records, calculation files and review evidence supporting working table 3: gender.

Evidence pack to prepare

Common reporting gaps

Using internal or approximate wording in place of the defined GRI terms.
Changing the required reporting population or denominator without explanation.
Treating GRI recommendations or LRA preparation controls as mandatory disclosure requirements.
Leaving a reported field unsupported by traceable source evidence and review records.
✓ LRA AI Assistant · Human-in-the-loop
Dr Ross Kurinko

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Framework references

Relevant GRI requirements and related disclosures

Available framework references and nearby disclosures relevant to preparing this requirement.

GRI

GRI 401-3

within GRI 401: Employment

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Go deeper · GRI 401-3

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