The Shared Parental Leave & Pay (Bereavement) Bill was presented to Parliament on 6 December 2023. The legislation makes it easier and provides more flexibility for parents to take paternity leave. It was first referenced in the Government’s response to the parental leave and pay aspect of the ‘‘Good Work Plan: Proposals to Support Families‘.
In summary, the Government has commented that the future legislation will:
- “Give employed fathers and partners more choice and flexibility around how and when they take their Paternity Leave. They will be able to take the current entitlement of up to two weeks of leave in two separate blocks of one week of leave if they wish.
- Give employed fathers and partners the ability to take their leave at any time in the first year, rather than just in the first eight weeks after birth or placement for adoption.
- Change the notice requirements for Paternity Leave to make these more proportionate to the amount of time the father or partner plans to take off work. This will give parents more flexibility in planning to take the leave that they need.”
The Government proposes that a parent intending to take paternity leave provides:
- Notice of entitlement to their employer 15 weeks before the birth of the child (or placement for adoption); and
- 28 days of notice before the dates that they intend to take each period of paternity leave.
The proposed changes will be rolled out through secondary legislation which the Government has indicated will be introduced ‘in due course’.
What are the current rules in respect of paternity leave?
Typically, when a person’s partner is due to have a baby, adopting a child, or having a baby via a surrogacy arrangement, they will be entitled to:
1. Ordinary Paternity Leave
This type of leave is available to biological fathers or partners of a birth mother or adopter. To be eligible for Ordinary Paternity Leave, the employee has to be continuously employed for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth or the week they are matched with a child for adoption.
2. Statutory Paternity Pay
Eligible workers who take Ordinary Paternity Leave may be entitled to receive Statutory Paternity Pay, assuming they meet certain criteria. The payment is typically for up to two weeks and is paid at the statutory rate or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
3. Additional Paternity Leave
This form of leave permits a father or partner to take additional time off work. It can be taken in addition to Ordinary Paternity Leave but only if the mother or primary adopter returns to work before using the full entitlement of their Statutory Maternity Leave or Statutory Adoption Leave. Additional Paternity Leave can last up to 26 weeks.
4. Shared Parental Leave
Shared Parental Leave allows eligible parents to share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay between them. This allows them to have greater flexibility in how they care for their child during the first year. It is available to the birth parents, adopters, and partners of the birth parents or adopters.
5. Shared Parental Pay
Those who can take Shared Parental Leave may also be entitled to receive Shared Parental Pay. The payment is usually for up to 37 weeks and is paid at the statutory rate or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
What should employers be doing?
Whilst these proposals have not yet become law, it is advisable that employers review existing paternity and parental leave policies now to ensure that they reflect modern parenting practices.
By reviewing and then, if necessary, updating family-friendly policies, employers will ensure that workers know what is expected of them if they want to take paternity and/or parental leave and what their rights are.
It will be relevant to employee retention to offer competitive terms around parental leave and rights or employers will face losing staff over it.
How can we help?
Laura Kearsley is a Partner in our expert Employment Law team. Laura has a strong reputation in all aspects of employment law, including Employment Tribunal litigation, discipline and grievance issues, and unfair and constructive unfair dismissal claims, and has particular experience in developing HR support services for businesses.
If you would like any advice concerning the subjects discussed in this article, please contact Laura or another member of the team in Derby, Leicester or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online form.
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