Family Friendly Policies

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Family Friendly Policies

Introduction

1980’s - dark days

The 1980’s were dark days in terms of support for families having a baby, with hardly any

provisions (or protection) in place and very little or no childcare help.

There was no such thing as Paternity Leave and Pay – fathers had no right to any time off.

Maternity Leave was linked to a substantial length of service.

State-paid Maternity Allowance was restricted, and there was no protection against

discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy or childcare issues.

Parental Leave, Flexible Working, and Time off for Dependants had not been thought of yet.

1990’s - changes afoot

In the 1990’s this changed and has continued to improve year on year ever since.

In 1999 new regulations were introduced and parents were permitted 3 months unpaid

parental leave per child while Maternity Leave was set at 18 weeks.

Paternity rights for fathers were going through Parliament and things were looking more

positive for families.

2000 – 2010 - more improvements

In 2003 the law was passed so fathers had the right to take Paternity Leave for the first time.

The Government also introduced the right to request Flexible Working for parents of a child

up to the age of 6 (or up to the age of 18 if the child had a disability).

In 2004 Maternity Leave increased to 26 weeks.

In 2009 Maternity Leave increased to 39 weeks.

2010 – 2015 - big changes

In 2010 fathers were given the right to a further 26 weeks leave (Additional Paternity Leave,

which has now been replaced with Shared Parental Leave) but this Leave could only be

taken if the mother returned to work.

Since 2012 the Government have been debating Shared Parental Leave, how and when it

would be introduced, and the implications for employers.

From 2014 partners were allowed unpaid time off to accompany the expectant mother to

antenatal appointments.

From 2014 the right to request Flexible Working was extended to all employees with 26

weeks service.

By 2015 Maternity Leave had increased to 52 weeks.

2015 saw the introduction of Shared Parental Leave and Pay on which the Government

comments “…the new rights allow men to become more hands-on fathers and stop women

feeling they have to choose between a career or a baby. We want parents to choose for

themselves how to balance work and family”.

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Family Friendly Policies

Summary

Paternity

1 or 2 consecutive weeks - must be taken in one go.

Leave can’t start before birth.

Leave must finish within 56 weeks of birth.

Statutory Paternity Pay for eligible employees.

Notice and proof of eligibility is usually required in writing.

Employees can accompany their partner to 2 antenatal appointments of up to 6.5 hours

each, this is unpaid.

Maternity

52 weeks in total – 26 weeks Ordinary Maternity Leave, 26 weeks Additional Maternity

Leave.

First 2 weeks after birth are compulsory (4 weeks if working in a factory).

Notice is usually required in writing.

Statutory Maternity Pay for up to 39 weeks.

First 6 weeks at 90% of normal pay, remaining 33 weeks at SMP or 90% of normal pay –

whichever is lower.

Adoption

52 weeks in total – 26 weeks Ordinary Adoption Leave, 26 weeks Additional Adoption

Leave.

Only one parent can take Adoption Leave, the other could get Paternity Leave instead.

Up to five paid adoption appointments after being matched with a child.

Notice and proof of eligibility is usually required in writing.

Statutory Adoption Pay for up to 39 weeks.

First 6 weeks at 90% of normal pay, remaining 33 weeks at SAP or 90% of normal pay –

whichever is lower.

Shared Parental Leave

To be eligible for this the mother must end her Maternity Leave and Pay (or Adoption Leave

and Pay).

Up to 52 weeks to share, minus any weeks of Maternity/Adoption Leave already taken.

Up to 39 weeks Shared Parental Pay to share, minus any weeks of SMP or SAP already

paid.

Must be taken after the compulsory 2 weeks Maternity Leave and before the child’s first

birthday, or within one year of adoption.

SPL can be taken in up to 3 separate blocks of at least one week, and can be taken at the

same time as the partner if you are both eligible.

Notice requirements are quite complex and are usually required in writing.

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Family Friendly Policies

Flexible Working

All employees have the right to request Flexible Working, not just parents or carers.

To be eligible employees must have at least 26 weeks service.

Employees must request flexible working in writing stating their changes, reason, how it

affects their work and team, and how the employer might accommodate their request.

Requests can be refused on certain grounds.

Only one request can be made per year.

If a request has been agreed it is usually a permanent change to a contract of employment

which can only be changed with a further Flexible Working Request.

Parental Leave

Up to 18 weeks unpaid leave for each child up to the child’s 18th birthday.

A maximum of 4 weeks in any one year.

Leave must be taken in periods of at least one week.

Notice is usually required in writing.

Employers can postpone Parental Leave under certain circumstances, but they are obliged

to allow the leave within 6 months of the original requested start date.

Time off for Dependants

A dependant could be a spouse, partner, child, grandchild, parent, or someone who

depends on you for care.

Reasonable time off is allowed to deal with an emergency, there is no set amount declared

by law, but generally a reasonable amount is construed to be one or two days at the most.

This time off is usually unpaid.

It should not be used for situations that employees knew about beforehand such as hospital

appointments.

Other Resources

More information is available on the Government website www.gov.uk or on the advisory

website ACAS www.acas.org.uk

June 2015 - DJ