The Parental Leave Directive, 2010/18/EU, is a Framework Directive implementing an agreement negotiated between the Social Partners. (It is for that reason that the original Framework Directive, 96/34/EEC did not initially apply to the UK, until the incoming Labour Government signed up to the Social Chapter, following which the Directive was extended to the UK by Directive 97/75/EC). The Social Partners subsequently negotiated a revised Framework Agreement, which was signed on 18 June 2009. The Agreement was then annexed to a Framework Directive, which was formally adopted on 8 March 2010 (Council Directive 2010/18/EU, implementing the revised Framework Agreement on parental leave concluded by BUSINESSEUROPE, UEAPME, CEEP and ETUC and repealing Directive 96/34/EC (see PII [1174] ff for the text)). The main change of substance in the new Directive is an increase in entitlement to leave for each parent from three months to four. The Directive allows a period of two