Family Friendly Employment Rights

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Family Friendly Employment Rights

• The Government has introduced a range of new
  employment rights designed to help working
  parents. In addition to amendments to the
  existing maternity leave provisions, new
  entitlements to paternity leave and pay, adoption
  leave and pay and a right to request flexible
  working conditions have been created.

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• The new regime is scheduled to take effect
  from 6th April 2003 and the main provisions are
  summarised below. Further more detailed
  information and advice can of course be provided
  as required as can assistance in amending your
  employment policies and staff handbooks to take
  account of these new employment rights.

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Maternity Pay and Leave

• Women whose expected week of childbirth begins on
  or after 6th April 2003 will benefit from the new
  provisions.
•  
• The length of ordinary maternity leave will be
  increased from 18 to 26 weeks. Women will be
  eligible regardless of the duration of their
  employment and will be entitled to statutory
  maternity pay during the ordinary maternity leave
  period.
• A further 6 months unpaid maternity leave will
  be available to women who have completed 26
  weeks continuous service with their employer at
  the beginning of the 14th week before their
  expected week of childbirth (EWC).
•  
•  

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• For all women receiving the standard rate of
  statutory maternity pay, the standard rate of
  statutory maternity pay will increase from 75
  per week to 100 per week (or 90 of the womans
  average weekly earnings if this is less than 100
  a week) from 6th April 2003. Statutory maternity
  pay will continue to be paid at 90 of the
  average weekly earnings for the first six months,
  and will then be paid at the standard rate for
  the remaining weeks.

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Premature Births

• If the EWC falls on or after 6th April 2003 and
  the child is born prematurely, the mother will be
  entitled to the new maternity leave rights. She
  will be entitled to 26 weeks ordinary maternity
  leave and, if applicable, 26 weeks additional
  maternity leave.
• Women who have already commenced their statutory
  maternity leave period prior to 6th April 2003
  will receive statutory maternity leave or
  maternity allowance at the standard rate of 75
  per week up to 5th April 2003.

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Late Births

• If the EWC falls before 6th April 2003, and the
  child is born on or after 6th April 2003, the
  mother is entitled to the old leave and pay
  entitlements.

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Notification Requirements

• An employee will require to give notification of
  the date upon which she intends her ordinary
  maternity leave to start before the end of the
  fifteenth week prior to the EWC. The employee
  will be able to change her mind about the date
  provided she gives her employer 28 days notice.
• Absence from work on account of pregnancy will
  cause an employees ordinary maternity leave to
  begin automatically if it is after the beginning
  of the fourth week before the EWC.

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• An employer will require to notify the employee
  of the date upon which maternity leave will end.
  If he does not do so, he will be unable to
  prevent the employee from returning early, and
  the employee will be protected from detriment or
  dismissal if she fails to return on the due date.

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Employers Recovery of Payments

• Employers will be allowed to offset statutory
  maternity payments against contributions due to
  be made to the Inland Revenue. Employers will
  continue to be able to recover statutory
  maternity payments in the same way and to the
  same extent as previously. One new provision is
  that employers can also claim advance funding if
  the amount they are due to pay will exceed any
  payments they are due to make to the Inland
  Revenue. The Inland Revenue will however be able
  to recover any overpayments of advance funding.
• Employers recovery of payments will operate in
  the same manner for paternity pay and for
  adoption pay.

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Paternity Leave and Pay

• Employees whose partner has an EWC on or after
  6th April 2003 will be entitled to the new
  paternity leave and pay provisions.
• An employee will be entitled to paid paternity
  leave if he has or expects to have responsibility
  for the childs upbringing he is the biological
  father of the child or is the mothers husband or
  partner and he has worked continuously for the
  employer for 26 weeks preceding the 14th week
  before the baby is due.
• Paternity leave can be taken as either two
  periods of one week or two consecutive weeks, but
  not as a collection of odd days.

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• Paternity leave can commence on any day of the
  week but must be completed within 56 days of the
  childs birth. If the child is born early leave
  must be completed within 56 days after the first
  day of the EWC.
• An employee will require to give notification of
  the date upon which his paternity leave is to
  begin before the fifteenth week prior to the EWC.
  The employee will be able to change his mind
  about the date provided he gives his employer 28
  days notice.
• An employee must then give his employer a further
  notice after the childs birth of the date upon
  which the child was born.

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• An employee is only entitled to two weeks
  paternity leave regardless of whether more than
  one child is born as a result of the same
  pregnancy.
• During their paternity leave employees will be
  entitled to statutory paternity pay. This will be
  the same as the standard rate of statutory
  maternity pay. Employees who have average
  earnings below the lower earnings limit for
  national insurance contributions (75 per week)
  will not qualify for statutory paternity pay.

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Premature Births

• If the EWC falls on or after 6th April 2003, and
  the child is born prematurely, employees will be
  entitled to take paternity leave and pay.
• Any paternity pay period which starts before 6th
  April 2003 will be paid for the full period at
  75 per week

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Late Births

• If the EWC falls before 6th April 20303, and the
  child is born on or after 6th April 2003,
  employees will have the right to take paternity
  leave and pay.

15
Employment Protection

• An employee will be protected from unfair
  dismissal or detriment related to paternity leave
  in the same way as is a woman when taking
  maternity leave.

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Adoption Leave and Pay

• There will be a new statutory right to six
  months paid and six months unpaid leave to
  parents who have adopted a child. Adoption Leave
  will be available to individuals who adopt, and
  to one member of a couple where a couple adopt
  jointly. The partner of an individual who adopts
  (or the other member of a couple who are adopting
  jointly) may be entitled to paternity leave and
  pay.
• Both paid adoption leave and paid paternity leave
  will be available to employees where an approved
  adoption agency notifies the adopter of a match
  with a child on or after 6th April 2003.

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• Both adoption and paternity leave and pay will
  also be available to employees where an approved
  adoption agency notifies the adopter of a match
  with a child before 6th April 2003, but the child
  is placed on or after 6th April 2003 (special
  notice arrangements will apply).
• An employee will only be eligible for adoption
  leave if he or she has been newly matched with a
  child for adoption by an approved adoption agency
  and has continuously worked for his employer for
  26 weeks leading up to the week when he or she is
  notified of a match.

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Start of Adoption Leave

• Employees can choose to start their leave
• from the date of the childs placement (whether
  this is earlier or later than expected), or
• from a fixed date which can be up to fourteen
  days before the expected date of the placement.
• Adoption leave can start on any day of the week.
  Only one period of leave will be available
  regardless of whether more than one child has
  been placed for adoption as part of the same
  arrangement.
•  

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• If the placement ends during the adoption leave
  period, the adopter will be able to continue
  adoption leave for up to eight weeks after the
  end of the placement.

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Statutory Adoption pay

• Most adopters will be entitled to statutory
  adoption pay (SAP) during their adoption leave.
•  
• SAP will be paid by employers for up to 26 weeks.
  This will be the same as the standard rate of
  statutory maternity pay. Adopters who have
  average earnings below the lower earnings limit
  for national insurance contributions will not be
  entitled to SAP.

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Notice of Intention to take Adoption Leave

• Adopters will require to give notice of their
  intention to take adoption leave within seven
  days of being notified of a match (unless this is
  not reasonably practicable). The adopter will
  require to identify when the child is expected to
  be placed with them and when they want the
  adoption leave to start.
• Adopters can change their mind on the start date
  providing they tell their employer at least 28
  days in advance (unless this is not reasonably
  practicable). The same timescale applies in
  relation to the date upon which the adopter
  wishes payments of SAP to start.

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• An employer will require to write to the adopter
  setting out the date they expect the employee to
  return to work if the full entitlement to
  adoption leave is taken.
• Employees will require to give their employer
  documentary evidence in the form of a matching
  certificate from their adoption agency as
  evidence of their entitlement to SAP.

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Return to Work

• Employees who want to return to work before the
  end of their adoption leave period will require
  to give 28 days notice of the date upon which
  they intend to return.
• Employees will be protected from suffering a
  detriment or unfair dismissal for reasons related
  to taking, or seeking to take, adoption leave.

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Paternity Pay and Leave (Adoption)

• When a child is placed for adoption, adoption
  leave is not the only right of relevance. Subject
  to meeting the qualifying criteria, some
  employees will be eligible to take paternity
  leave and pay. This will operate irrespective of
  gender. If a couple adopt a child jointly, either
  of them may take adoption leave. If the woman
  takes adoption leave the man may be entitled to
  take paternity leave and vice versa.
• The only distinction in taking paternity leave in
  adoption situations is that references to the
  birth are replaced by references to the date of
  matching.

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Flexible Working

• From 6th April 2003 an employee will be able to
  request a change in working conditions to enable
  him, or her to care for a child aged under six or
  for a disabled child aged under eighteen.
• An employee will be entitled to make such a
  request if he or she-
• has been continuously employed by the
  employer for 26 weeks on the date of the
  application for flexible working is
• (i) the mother, father, adopter, guardian or
  foster parent of the child, or
• (ii) married to any of the above people or the
  partner of any of these people and living with
  the child or expects to have responsibility for
  the childs upbringing.

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• An employee may request a change in his or her
  conditions relating to the hours of work, the
  times he is required to work, and where he is
  required to work.
• The initial onus will be on the employee to make
  a considered request. Only one application can be
  made per employee per year and an accepted
  application will result in a permanent change to
  the employees terms and conditions of
  employment.

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Procedure

• Where an employer receives a request, he will
  require to hold a meeting within 28 days to
  discuss the application and he will require to
  notify the employee of his decision within 28
  days. An employee will be able to appeal against
  a negative decision within 14 days of receiving
  the decision.
• An employee will be entitled to be accompanied by
  a colleague at both the initial meeting and any
  subsequent appeal.