The Work and Families Bill – aiming to help working parents
Release date: Oct 2006

The Work and Families Bill was published last year. It aims to help working parents balance the demands of their jobs with caring for their children by introducing a modern framework of rights and responsibilities. Most significantly, mothers will be entitled to nine months' statutory maternity pay from April 2007 (which is likely to increase to a year) and where the mother chooses to return to work after six months but before the end of her maternity leave entitlement, fathers will be able to take the outstanding amount as extended paternity leave and will be able to use up any outstanding statutory pay for this purpose. In this way parents will be able to share care responsibilities should they choose to do so. The Department of Trade and Industry suggests up to 440,000 fathers could benefit from this arrangement.

Other measures aim to reduce administration and encourage planning and communication during leave. They provide welcome clarification and simplification for both employers and employees and will:

1. introduce 'keeping in touch days' so that, where employees and employers agree, a women on maternity leave can go into work for a few days without losing her right to maternity leave or a week's statutory pay
2. extend the period of notice for early return from maternity leave from 28 days to eight weeks (allowing for easier business planning)
3. clarify, in law that reasonable contact is permitted at any stage during maternity leave.

The new Bill will also extend the right to request flexible working arrangements to carers of dependant adults from April 2007. Further consultation is taking place that will clarify which carers will qualify.

For further information contact Chris Wiper
chris.wiper@close-thornton.co.uk

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