Time with the family
The Government has set out its proposals for a radical shake-up of family friendly rights from April 2015. Kevin McCavish assesses the implications for employers
When the Coalition Government pressed ahead with implementing the new right to additional paternity leave and pay in April this year, it made it clear that this was purely an interim measure and that bigger changes were on the way.
The current entitlement to maternity leave is 52 weeks leave with 39 weeks which may be paid and 13 weeks unpaid. Fathers are entitled to two weeks ordinary paternity leave and pay, and up to 26 weeks additional leave once the baby is 20 weeks old and the mother has returned to work. Currently there is also a right for each parent to take 13 weeks unpaid parental leave which can be taken up until the child’s fifth birthday.
Plans for a radical system of flexible parental leave to be shared between parents as they wish and replacing the current maternity, paternity and parental leave schemes, have now been published for consultation.
The Government wants to give parents greater choice and facilitate truly shared parenting. Under the proposals:
- the right to 18 weeks maternity leave and pay will be preserved just for the mother and will continue to be taken in one block around the time of the baby’s birth
- the current right to ordinary paternity leave and pay of two weeks will also be preserved.
- four weeks’ leave and pay will be reserved for the exclusive use of each parent, to be taken in the child’s first year and in order to encourage fathers, who are typically the secondary carer, to play a more active role. To prevent the period of paid leave available to a mother being reduced an additional four weeks of paid leave will be added to the overall entitlement
- the remainder of existing maternity leave (up to 30 weeks) will be reclassified as parental leave and available to either parent on an equal basis. The first 17 weeks will be paid but the remaining 13 weeks will be unpaid (reflecting the current position) Parents will be able to split parental leave between them but also take leave at the same time
- the existing right to unpaid parental leave will be extended to 18 weeks so that each parent will have a right to parental leave which they can use from the end of maternity/parental leave throughout their child’s early years
- the Government is seeking views on the possibility of allowing greater flexibility over when leave is taken for example, splitting it into two or more periods of leave or taking it on a part-time basis
- the Government is also looking at extending the current right to take unpaid parental leave beyond the child’s fifth birthday (as is currently the case) and whether fathers should be entitled to unpaid leave to attend antenatal appointments
There would be parity within any new scheme for adopters (as currently) and all rights for fathers would also be available to partners, including same sex partners, of mothers.
The consultation period ends on 8 August 2011 and the consultation paper can accessed at the following link: http://discuss.bis.gov.uk/modernworkplaces/flexible-parental-leave/
Right to request flexible working for all employees
The statutory right for parents and carers to request to work flexibly looks likely to be extended to all employees in the near future.
The right of parents to request flexible working was introduced in April 2003 and extended to certain carers in 2007. Employers can refuse such requests for specific business reasons, although surveys have revealed that the majority of requests are accepted.
The Coalition Agreement between the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties contained a commitment to extend this right to all employees and the Government has now launched a consultation on implementing this pledge.
The Government proposes to replace the current statutory process for considering flexible working requests with a simple duty on employers to consider such requests ‘reasonably.’ It would also introduce a statutory Code of Practice to outline what reasonable consideration would involve.
What will not change is that employees will still only have the right to request a contract variation to enable them to work flexibly; there will be no absolute right to demand this. Employees will still need to have been employed by the employer for 26 weeks before making such a request. The existing eight business grounds on which employers can refuse requests will also remain unchanged.
The Government has recognised that legislation is not the only way to promoting flexible working and non-legislative measures are also being developed.
The consultation period ends on 8 August 2011 and the Government have said it aims to amend the legislation on flexible working “as soon as possible in this Parliament”.
The consultation paper can accessed at the following link: http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/employment-matters/docs/c/11-699-4-consultation-modern-workplaces-flexible-working.pdf
Kevin McCavish is national head of employment at Shoosmiths
