Under new government plans starting in April 2015, both mothers and fathers will be able to benefit for shared parental leave.
What Are The New Plans For Parental Leave?
The new plan for flexible parental leave aims to give women a clearer ‘route back’ to work and improve leave arrangements for both parents.
Under the new system, parents will be able to choose exactly how they share child care in the first year. 52 weeks of maternity leave will still be available to the mother and she will still have to take the first fortnight for her recovery. However after that it is entirely up to both the working parents how they wish to share the remaining leave.
In addition to this, where leave lasts 6 months or less, the employee will still have the right to return to the same job.
Moving forward, employees will be required to give their employer a breakdown of how they plan to share their leave eight weeks in advance and are entitled to change their plans twice during their leave. However, employers will still have to agree to this pattern and can still insist that employees take the leave in one single continuous block.
What Does This Mean For Businesses?
The concerns voiced by the Institute of Directors stated that the new plan for flexible parental leave would “heap yet more burdens on struggling employers” Alexander Ehmann the Deputy Director of Policy & Public Affairs said: “The proposed system is considerably more complex and unwieldy than the current laws and employers will – once again – have to absorb the cost of adapting and implementing this new system”.
If this is indeed the case, it will be wise for employers to be aware in advance just how this will affect how their business is run and make sure any policies put in place and updated in the employee handbook reflect not just their own needs and rights but those of their employees too.
Issues such as discrepancies in pay could also be highlighted if occupational schemes are not amended. For example, the difference in pay between maternity leave and paternity leave could possibly be contested by fathers looking after their children. It is likely they would want the same maternity leave packages as their partners. Looking forward, unless occupational schemes change to reflect the new system, fathers who wish to share child care will not practically be able to do so if they continue to receive the statutory flat rate.
Got Questions? Let Us Help
As with all new sets of regulations, it is vital for employers to become familiar with them in order to plan for the future and to implement new policies within the workplace. Misunderstanding how changes in paternity leave affect both employers and employees rights could result in costly disputes, so seek professional HR advice for peace of mind and keep your business safe.
For free help on employment law advice call us with your questions on 0161 115 6164.
