Family Friendly Employment Issues

by Katie Wood

The Government has assessed that to enable children to have the best start in life the rights of both mothers and fathers need to be increased. This is the overall objective of The Work and Families Act 2006, which will affect all women employees with an expected week of childbirth commencing on or after 1 April 2007. The Act aims to provide parents with more choice about how to balance their work and family responsibilities and to support employers in recruiting and retaining the best employees.

So, what are the main changes and what will be the impact on employers?

Maternity Leave

Women used to be entitled to 26 weeks Ordinary Maternity Leave during which they were entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay, subject to certain wage and length of service qualifications.  This period has been increased under the Act by a further 13 weeks after April 2007 and subsequently by another 13 weeks. This means that by the end of 2008 women will be entitled to one year’s Ordinary Maternity Leave with Statutory Maternity Pay and contractual maternity pay continuing throughout the entire term. The Government believes that this will help mothers play a greater role in the upbringing of their children, with a reduction in the financial pressure to return to work.

This will have a huge impact on employers who will remain bound to keep the mother’s job available for her return, and maintain the other rights contained in her contract of employment.  Those employers, who provide contractual maternity pay, may be at risk of having to pay the mother this contractual pay for twice as long as they currently do, by the end of 2008.  In addition, the mother may then decide that she wishes to take Additional Maternity Leave (which all mothers will now be entitled to take) which could result in the mother being away from the workplace for a total of 18 months.

Paternity Rights

The most substantial change brought about by the Act is the effect on fathers’ rights. This was as a result of the substantial research done into the “21st Century Dad”. According to the Equal Opportunities Commission, the amount of time spent on childcare by fathers has increased eightfold in the last 30 years. It also found that 70% of fathers use some or all of their Paternity Leave entitlement, which until this Act, was only two weeks leave.

This Act allows fathers to take some of their partner’s paid maternity leave entitlement once the partner has returned to work. It is thought that the Government will allow fathers to take up to 3 months of their partner’s paid entitlement. When this is taken into consideration alongside the extended benefit of Ordinary Maternity Leave for mothers, it will have a profound effect on the workplace. Mothers will be able to take 9 months Ordinary Maternity Leave, their partner will be able to take the remaining 3 months as Paternity Leave, and they will be entitled to receive Statutory Maternity Pay during this time.  Employers will have a duty to keep the father’s job available for his return and maintain all of the obligations under the contract of employment.

Whilst this will allow more fathers to take time off to spend with their children, it places the burden of administration on the employer; who will now have double the amount of administration, compared with that for the present maternity leave and pay entitlements.

Where parents are unmarried, living apart or one parent has re-married the situation becomes uncertain, which may have a greater impact on the ability of small businesses to determine accurately an employee's eligibility.  This problem is increased when fathers have two jobs; the father could potentially claim Paternity Leave from one employer and increase his hours at his other job, thereby receiving the paternity allowance and a wage. Yet small businesses could find themselves facing the possibility of sanctions should it be found that the employee has abused the system. It will be very important to ensure that all administration is kept, in order to prevent unnecessary errors occurring.

Notice Period

The Act reforms the notice period to be given by an employee prior to returning from work after Maternity Leave. This measure is intended to give more time to employers to plan for a mother’s return to work following the birth. Currently, a mother going on Ordinary Maternity Leave will agree with her employer the date she expects she will return to work. If she subsequently intends to return to work earlier or later than this arranged date, she must provide her employer 28 days’ notice of her return date.

It is the Government’s intention that this 28 day notice period will increase to 2 months. It is hoped that this will encourage more communication between employer and employee during the Maternity Leave, protect businesses from undue disruption and result in a smooth return to work for both the employer and employee.

This measure will undoubtedly benefit employers and particularly small businesses that may have employed temporary staff to cover the Maternity Leave who will not be able to continue once the mother returns to work. It will provide more certainty in the workplace. Employers, knowing the mother’s situation will have more time to ensure that the returning mother can fit back into the workplace and, along with other employees, make suitable adjustments to facilitate their return. 

“Keep In Touch” days

The proposed Maternity and Parental Leave (Amendment) Regulations will specify circumstances in which a mother may agree with her employer to come into work or undertake training for a maximum of 10 days, in order to keep in touch with the business, without affecting her right to maternity leave or holiday entitlement.

These measures are meant to enable employers to maintain better contact with mothers. In addition, employers will be allowed to maintain “reasonable contact” with mothers during their maternity leave, which it is hoped will increase the level of communication and assist in the mother’s return to work. This should assist small businesses who may not have a dedicated HR department. 

Conclusion

This Act has been introduced to help children receive the best start in life. Undoubtedly, the ability of mothers and fathers to take long periods of paid leave after the birth of their child will benefit families. . The greater communication between businesses and employees on Maternity Leave will enable a more efficient return to work for the mother. However, the effect on employers will be profound. Although the increased notice period will enable businesses to implement any necessary workplace changes within a more manageable period of time, there  will be problems such as the increased costs in dealing with additional administration; hopefully the benefits of increased levels of communication will outweigh some of these problems.

Katie Wood is an employment lawyer at Burnetts Solicitors in Carlisle.

Burnetts employment law team will be hosting a Family Friendly Employment Issues Masterclass for employers on 30th November 2006 from 4pm – 6.30pm at a cost of £30 per delegate. To book a place on the Masterclass or for employment law advice, contact Burnetts’ Employment Law team on 01228 552222.

Oct 2006