If you came to one of the recent East Midlands Chambers events where we provided a HR and Employment law update, you’ll know that there are changes on the horizon for family-friendly rights in the workplace.
Well, those changes are closer than we thought and as luck would have it, three of the bills impacting family-friendly rights in the workplace that we discussed during the recent Chambers events have now received royal assent (basically, they’ve passed through Parliament and King Charles has given the go ahead for the changes in these bills to become law).
These three new pieces of legislation extend rights to parents and carers and mark the first major update to family-friendly rights in the workplace that we’ve seen for quite some time.
Whilst these new family-friendly rights aren’t in force yet, now is a good time to get your head around the impact they will have on your workforce.
Don’t worry, Precept have got you covered as always. So what exactly is changing…?
The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act
This Act will allow employees with at least 26 weeks’ service with their employer to take up to 12 weeks’ paid leave where their new-born baby is admitted to neonatal care. This will be in addition to the usual leave entitlements such as maternity, paternity and/or adoption leave.
The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act
This Act will extend existing redundancy protections whilst on Maternity Leave, Adoption Leave or Shared Parental Leave to also cover pregnancy and a period of time after a new parent has returned to work.
The Carer’s Leave Act
This Act will create a new statutory unpaid leave entitlement for employees who are caring for a dependant with a long-term care need.
As we say, these new rights aren’t in place just yet and we’re expecting some more legislation to be produced “in due course” and that will fill in some of the missing details of the impact of these changes and when they will take effect. As soon as we hear, we will let you know.
In the meantime, if you have any questions related to family-friendly leave, please do not hesitate to contact us. We’re here to help!
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