A number of significant family-related employment law changes come into force on 1 October. Their main effects are to extend the length of time that pregnant women and adoptive parents can take off work, and to allow increased contact between employers and any of their employees who are on maternity or adoption leave.
Under the new rules, all pregnant women are now entitled to one year off work. Previously, the basic entitlement was for six months’ leave, with an additional period of six months granted only to those women who had worked for their employer for 26 continuous weeks prior to the 14th week before the baby’s due date. This length-of-service requirement for additional leave is now abolished.
Pregnant employees will now also receive statutory maternity pay (SMP) for longer. Where previously the entitlement to SMP only applied for the first six months’ maternity leave, it is now extended to nine months. This change also affects adoptive parents, whose entitlement to paid leave is also extended from six to nine months.
This extension of paid maternity and adoption leave applies in cases where the expected date of childbirth or placement is on or after 1 April 2007.
The new family-friendly rules also introduce a number of procedural changes designed to improve communication between employers and employees during periods of leave. The main changes are as follows:
- the notice mothers must give to employers if they change their return-to-work dates is increasing from 28 days to eight weeks
- employers are being given the right to make ‘reasonable contact’ with employees on maternity or adoption leave
- employees on maternity and adoption leave are being given optional ‘keep in touch’ days, allowing them to attend work for training or to keep in touch with major developments, without losing the right to claim their statutory payments.
There are also a number of admin changes relating to the payment of SMP. First, SMP will now be payable either on a daily or weekly basis. Second, the start-date for paying SMP is being made more flexible to make it easier to start maternity leave and pay on the same day.
Businesses are advised to make sure that their HR processes and documentation are updated to reflect the new rules. You should also ensure that your managers are aware of the new rules and know how to implement them.
For a complete list of the changes to work and families legislation visit the Department of Trade and Industry website
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