8 November 2006
New rights for mothers, fathers and carers
Many of the regulations in the new Work and Families Act 2006 are now in force and will bring numerous changes to existing maternity and paternity rights for women whose due date is on or after 1 April 2007.
Claire Taylor, Employment solicitor, says, This Act is part of the Governments manifesto to help balance home and working commitments and its provisions are a salutary reminder to employers of their responsibilities towards pregnant employees and their partners.
Some of these new rights are listed below:
- Statutory maternity and adoption pay will increase from 26 weeks to 39 weeks for women expecting babies on or after 1 April 2007.
- All women will now be entitled to one years maternity leave regardless of their length of service.
- The new Act includes a provision for the introduction of a statutory right to additional paternity leave of up to 26 weeks within the 12 months following the childs birth. If the mother has returned to work whilst she was still entitled to statutory maternity pay, then the father could be entitled to statutory paternity pay. However, the Government has specified that these Regulations will not come into play before the end of this Parliament.
- All employers, including employers with five or less employees, will have to provide women returning from maternity leave with the same or equivalent job.
- The right to request flexible working is currently available for assisting employees with childcare. Under the draft Regulations to this Act, the right will be extended to people who have caring responsibilities for adults. This is likely to include those caring for partners or spouses.
Importantly, the Act encourages open communication between women and their employers. Employers will have the right to reasonable contact with their employees during their maternity leave. This contact will not bring the maternity leave to an end and the position will be clarified by further legislation.
Additionally, the new Act has created a concept of Keeping in Touch days. This provision will encourage women to maintain communication with their employee without losing maternity pay. At the moment, if a woman returns to work during her maternity leave she will lose her statutory maternity pay for that week and, if she receives pay for that work, her maternity leave will end. Under the new Act women will be able to return to work for example for training for up to ten days during their statutory maternity leave without losing their leave or their pay.
The new Work and Families Act 2006 should make it easier for employees to balance their working and family lives. Although the Act will impose greater burdens on employers, the flexibility should enable employers to retain a valuable resource their staff.
For further information contact Claire Taylor, Employment Solicitor, on 01483 887766 or email Claire.taylor@hartbrown.co.uk