Employment Rights of Parents and Carers

Employment Rights of Parents and Carers

EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS OF PARENTS & CARERS ELAS TOPIC GUIDES

HEALTH&SAFETYMANAGEMENTCONSULTANTS

CONTENTS

Maternity Leave 03 10 Adoption Leave 14 Paternity Leave 17 Shared Parental Leave 23 Parental Leave 28 Emergency Care Leave 30 Want to knowmore? 31 Contact information

HOWMANY WEEKS OF MATERNITY LEAVE ARE MY EMPLOYEES ENTITLED TO? MATERNITY LEAVE All pregnant employees are entitled to 52 weeks of maternity leave regardless of their length of service.

52 WEEKS MATERNITY

IS MATERNITY LEAVE COMPULSORY? MATERNITY LEAVE Every pregnant employee must take at least 2 weeks of maternity leave, or 4 weeks if they work in a factory. This leave is compulsory for health and safety reasons.

WHEN CANMY EMPLOYEE START TAKING THEIR MATERNITY LEAVE? MATERNITY LEAVE The earliest that maternity leave can start is the 11th week before your employee’s baby is due. The latest date maternity leave can start is when the baby is actually born .

11WEEKS TO GO

It is worth noting that maternity leave automatically begins if your employee is off for a pregnancy related reason within the four weeks before her due date.

IS EVERY PREGNANT EMPLOYEE ENTITLED TOMATERNITY PAY? MATERNITY LEAVE Maternity pay is only due if the pregnant employee has been employed at your company long enough and earns enough. There are specific calculations that are used to calculate this and it depends on the due date the midwife declares on the MATB1 form – which is usually provided around 20 weeks into the pregnancy.

HOWMUCHMONEY IS MY PREGNANT EMPLOYEE ENTITLED TO? MATERNITY LEAVE

90% OF WAGES

UNPAID LEAVE

NEXT 33 WEEKS

Maternity pay is 90% of the pregnant employee’s wages for the first 6 weeks and then £140.98 per week for the next 33 weeks (this figure increases slightly year on year). The last 3 months of maternity leave are unpaid, which is why a lot of women choose to return to work after 9 months/ 39 weeks instead of taking the full year.

FIRST 6 WEEKS

LAST 3 MONTHS

£140.98 PER WEEK

WHAT ARE KIT (KEEPING IN TOUCH) DAYS? MATERNITY LEAVE KIT days are where a pregnant employee can work and be paid whilst still remaining on maternity leave and receiving maternity pay. Every pregnant woman is entitled to 10 KIT days . It isn’t compulsory for an employee to take these days and they can either be taken continuously or separately.

ENTITLED TO 10 KIT DAYS

DOES MY PREGNANT EMPLOYEE HAVE TO RETURN TO THEIR SAME JOB? MATERNITY LEAVE Yes, employees are entitled to return to the same job and same pay they had before taking maternity leave. Only in exceptional circumstances this may differ.

AN EMPLOYEE IS GOING THROUGH THE ADOPTION PROCESS, ARE THEY ENTITLED TO ADOPTION LEAVE? ADOPTION LEAVE In order to qualify for adoption leave, employees need to have been employed by the company for 26 weeks before the week in which they are notified of having being matched with a child for adoption.

HOWMANY WEEKS OF LEAVE IS MY EMPLOYEE ENTITLED TO? ADOPTION LEAVE Your employee is entitled to 52 weeks of adoption leave; this can start from the date of the child’s placement or from a fixed date, which can be up to 14 days before the expected date of placement. Your employee must give notice that they intend to take adoption leave no later than 7 days after being notified that they have been matched with a child.

52 WEEKS

WHAT IS THE RATE OF ADOPTION PAY? ADOPTION LEAVE

£140.98 PER WEEK

Adoption pay is £140.98 per week for 39 weeks, provided your employee has been employed long enough and earns enough. It is worth noting that specific calculations are used to calculate this so advice should be sought on a case by case basis.

SEEK ADVICE ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS

DOES MY EMPLOYEE HAVE THE RIGHT TO RETURN TO THEIR SAME JOB? ADOPTION LEAVE Yes, employees are entitled to return to the same job and same pay they had before taking adoption leave. Only in exceptional circumstances this may differ.

WHO IS ENTITLED TO PATERNITY LEAVE? PATERNITY LEAVE Paternity leave is available to fathers, partners and same-sex partners as well as intended parents in a surrogacy situation. In order to qualify, employees need to have been at your company for 26 weeks before the 15th week before the baby is due. A basic rule of thumb is that the employee would have been with the company since before the woman fell pregnant, however this is not entirely accurate in borderline cases

WHEN CANMY EMPLOYEE TAKE PATERNITY LEAVE? PATERNITY LEAVE Paternity leave must be taken as a single block of leave for either 1 or 2 weeks . Employees are also entitled to return to the same job at the same rate of pay as before.

WHAT IS THE RATE OF PATERNITY PAY? PATERNITY LEAVE

£140.98 PER WEEK

Paternity pay is £140.98 per week , provided the employee has earned enough – again there are specific calculations so be sure to seek advice.

SEEK ADVICE ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS

WHAT IS SHARED PARENTAL LEAVE? SHARED PARENTAL LEAVE The basic principal of shared parental leave is that if the mother wishes to return to work she can give any of her unused maternity leave , and pay, to her partner in the form of shared parental leave and statutory shared parental pay.

CAN BOTH PARENTS TAKE SHARED PARENTAL LEAVE AT THE SAME TIME? SHARED PARENTAL LEAVE Yes, or the leave can follow on from each other.

MY EMPLOYEEWANTS TO TAKE SHARED PARENTAL LEAVE BUT THEIR PARTNERWORKS FOR A DIFFERENT COMPANY, IS THIS OKAY? SHARED PARENTAL LEAVE Yes, employees don’t need to work for the same employer in order to take shared parental leave. Each party must serve a notice of their intentions to their employer and communicate with each other in order to check the eligibility requirements for both parties.

EACH PARTY MUST SERVE NOTICE

WHAT ARE THE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS? SHARED PARENTAL LEAVE There are different eligibility requirements for both parties. There are different rules for the mother and the partner with regards to length of service and earnings. Specific advice should be taken on a case by case basis.

SEEK ADVICE ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS

WHAT ARE SPLIT (SHARED PARENTAL LEAVE KEEPING IN TOUCH) DAYS? SHARED PARENTAL LEAVE Employees on shared parental leave are entitled to 20 SPLIT days where the employee who is on leave can work and be paid while still staying on shared parental leave and receiving shared parental pay. It isn’t compulsory to take these days and they can be used either continuously or individually.

DOES MY EMPLOYEE HAVE THE RIGHT TO RETURN TO THEIR SAME JOB? SHARED PARENTAL LEAVE Yes, both employees have the right to return to the same jobs they were on before commencing shared parental leave at the same rate of pay , except in specific circumstances.

WHAT IS PARENTAL LEAVE? PARENTAL LEAVE Employees with a length of service of 1 year or more are entitled to take 18 weeks of unpaid absence for each of their children who are under the age of 18.

18 WEEKS UNPAID ABSENCE

CHILDREN AGED UNDER 18

WHEN CANMY EMPLOYEE TAKE PARENTAL LEAVE? PARENTAL LEAVE Parental leave must be taken in blocks of whole weeks and they cannot take more than 4 weeks per child per year. If the child is disabled then the whole week rule doesn’t apply – parents can take the leave in part weeks as needed.

WHAT ARE THE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS? PARENTAL LEAVE In order to qualify, the employee must be responsible for the child and the leave they are requesting must relate to spending time with the child or caring for them. It cannot be used for activities that don’t include their children , for example holidays and games of golf.

WHAT IF I CAN’T AFFORD MY EMPLOYEE TO BE ABSENT AT THE MOMENT? PARENTAL LEAVE As an employer you are entitled to ask for the leave to be postponed by up to 6 months if you feel there is a genuine business need.

6 MONTHS

DOES MY EMPLOYEE HAVE THE RIGHT TO RETURN TO THEIR SAME JOB? PARENTAL LEAVE Yes, your employee has the right to return to the same job as before at the same rate of pay , except in specific circumstances.

WHAT IS EMERGENCY CARE LEAVE? EMERGENCY CARE LEAVE Emergency care leave is where an employee is entitled to time off for a reasonable duration in order to care for their dependants , including children and vulnerable adults, in emergency situations .

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF EMERGENCY CARE LEAVE? EMERGENCY CARE LEAVE Emergency care leave allows the carer to arrange alternative care for their dependants or provide care themselves if there are no alternatives. An employee cannot take emergency care leave for childcare reasons.

WANT TO KNOWMORE?

At the ELAS Group we offer a wide range of employment law and HR training courses: FAMILY FRIENDLY LEGISLATION (Half day course) ABSENCE MANAGEMENT(Half day course) DISCRIMINATION (Half day course) EQUALITY & DISCRIMINATION (e-learning course)

If you are interested in any of our courses, please contact [email protected] Visit our blog for up to date information on all things employment law. blog.elas.uk.com/blog

CONTACT US TODAY FOR MORE INFORMATION 08450 50 40 60 [email protected] www.elas.uk.com

HEALTH&SAFETYMANAGEMENTCONSULTANTS