Enhance Family Friendly Leave and Protection

Enhance Entitlement to Leave and Pay and Increase Protection from Redundancy

The Bill will enhance family friendly leave and protection by removing the length of service requirement for unpaid parental and paternity pay and enhance protection to prohibit dismissal for 6 months following a return to work from maternity leave.

Paternity Leave

The length of service requirement (26 weeks) for Paternity Pay will be removed; making leave and pay a day one entitlement.

The restriction on taking paternity leave following a period of shared parental leave will be removed. Currently if an employee takes a period of Shared Parental Leave they lose the right to take Paternity Leave.

Unpaid Parental Leave

Unpaid Parental Leave (also known as Ordinary Parental Leave) gives parents the right to take up to 18 weeks’ unpaid leave; at the rate of up to four weeks’ a year, for each child before their 18th birthday. There is currently a one-year qualifying period which will be removed, making the leave a day one entitlement. The intention is to make the right more accessible to employees, as the leave is unpaid I doubt removing the qualifying length of service would improve take up of the right.

Enhance Maternity Protection

Since 6 April 2024, women selected for redundancy have had the right to suitable alternative employment if they are pregnant (and have told their employer this) or if their expected date of childbirth was less than 18 months ago. Labour intends to enhance this by making it unlawful to dismiss a woman during pregnancy or within six months of her return to work.

Top Tips

The Government has indicated that the whole complex family leave system will be reviewed in the first year of its term.

Employee Handbook Compliance Package

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