Great news for parents & carers....

This is great news for both parents and carers who are in need of further support. We are however still a while off these acts being put into force with each act requiring secondary legislation - this not likely to happen for at least 12 months and changes will then be required to HMRC's systems etc., so inevitably they'll be quite a waiting period following the announcement of this much needed news. 

So no action for employers to take just yet, but when the time comes that these acts are enforced and statutory entitlements change, businesses will need to review and update their policies, practices and procedures -  it's worth bearing this in mind, keeping up to date with any developments and planning some time in to prepare for this.

So what are the three acts and what entitlements do they give?

1) Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act -  this creates a new statutory right to leave and pay for working parents whose child is receiving, or has received, neonatal care. Eligible parents whose new-born baby is admitted to neonatal care are entitled to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave in order to spend more time with their baby during this highly stressful time and not have to worry about work. This entitlement is in addition to other leave entitlements such as maternity and paternity leave.

2) Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act -   this act will provide greater protection to pregnant women and new parents in a redundancy situation, by giving them the right to be offered (as opposed to  having the opportunity to apply for) a suitable vacancy where one is available. This is the same protection that is currently provided to those who are put at risk of redundancy whilst on Maternity Leave, Adoption Leave or Shared Parental Leave. The act also specifically covers miscarriage situations so that an employee whose pregnancy has ended prior to her telling her employer would be able to access the protections as if she had informed her employer prior to the pregnancy ending. Government commentary to date suggests that protection will extend from when a woman informs her employer that she is pregnant until 18 months after the birth.

3) Carer’s Leave Act  - this creates a new statutory unpaid leave entitlement for employees who are caring for a dependant with a long-term care need and will be a right from day 1.  Eligible employees with caring responsibilities will be able to take one week’s unpaid leave per year to enable them to provide, or arrange care for, a dependant with a long-term care need. Currently those with caring responsibilities often have to rely on other sorts of care, e.g. parental leave, time off for dependants or using flexible working arrangements, which were designed for other situations, so are often not appropriate. The idea behind this act is to "enable carers to better balance their caring and work responsibilities, supporting them to remain in employment”.

For those reading this who are already on retainer with Fresh Seed, we will keep you notified with any developments on these acts being enforced and will ensure your policies are updated to reflect statutory entitlements and rights in a timely manner.

If you're not currently one of our clients and wish to find out more about the retainers we offer, please get in touch using the button below.