News - Legislation |
Changes to family friendly rights April 2007
Friendlier Family rights
The Work and Families Act 2006 (WFA) and regulations have made important changes. Some of the provisions (such as those relating to paternity leave are not expected to come into force until 2008).
Here are some of the main changes.
Statutory leave and pay rights
There are now longer periods for receiving statutory maternity pay (SMP) and statutory adoption pay (SAP). These have been increased from 26 to 39 weeks.
There is no longer any length of service requirement for employees wishing to take additional maternity leave (AML). Now, all employees, regardless of their length of service are entitled to 52 weeks’ maternity leave (26 weeks’ Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML) and then 26 weeks’ AML).
The length of notice to be given by an employee who wishes to change the return date from Ordinary Maternity Leave, AML, Ordinary or Additional Adoption Leave (and to return to work either earlier or later), has increased to 8 weeks from 28 days.
The small employer exemption has now been removed. It used to be the case that an employer (together with any associated employer) of five or fewer people was exempt from facing a claim for automatic unfair dismissal if it was not reasonably practicable to take back an employee returning from AML into her old job or to offer her a similar one.
Reasonable contact and keeping in touch
Reasonable contact and keeping in touch (KIT) days have been introduced. Now, both employers and employees may make reasonable contact with each other without bringing the statutory leave period to an end. The example given in the regulations themselves is to discuss an employee’s return to work. The logistics are a matter for the parties but it would be prudent for them to agree as much as possible in advance – e.g. who will initiate contact, how often and the method.
As regards KIT days, employees may now do up to 10 days’ paid work under their contracts of employment. Any work done on any one day counts as one day, so one hour’s training will use up one of the 10 KIT days. Doing any work at all and the type of work done is a matter for agreement between the employer and the employee and the parties cannot make each other either offer or undertake any such work. Employers particularly should note that it is unlawful to dismiss or subject an employee to any detriment for working or refusing to work KIT days.
Flexible working
The WFA extended the right to request flexible working to carers of adults. These are defined as those who are or expect to be caring for an adult who is married to, the partner or the civil partner of the employee or is a relative of the employee or living at the same address as the employee. A “relative” covers parents, parents-in-law, natural or adopted adult children, siblings (including in-laws), uncles, aunts, grandparents, and step-relatives.
