When we think of family leave or family friendly policies, maternity leave is probably the first thing that springs to mind, but there are a number of other family related statutory leaves and policies you may have in your business.
At CUBE HR we get asked a lot of questions about family leave so we’re going to take you on a whistle-stop tour!
Maternity Leave
- Employees don’t have to tell you they’re pregnant, but its helpful if they do so you can plan and also do a pregnant workers’ risk assessment to keep them safe
- You’ll need a copy of your employee’s MATB1 form to assess if they’re eligible for Statutory Maternity Pay and they’ll need to tell you about their maternity leave by the 15th week before their due date
- Pregnant employees are entitled to reasonable paid time off for antenatal appointments – there’s no legal limit, but we’d expect up to 10 for a first baby and up to 7 for a further child
- Maternity leave is for a maximum period of 52 weeks and the first 2 weeks (or 4 if you work in a factory) are compulsory maternity leave and must be taken
- Maternity leave can start up to 11 weeks before the due date, but no later than the due date. If baby comes early maternity leave kicks in early
- Statutory Maternity Pay consists of 6 weeks at 90% of average earnings, followed by 33 weeks at government prescribed rates (or 90% of average earnings if that’s lower)
- Employees can use up to 10 Keep In Touch days to help them return to work
Paternity Leave
- An expectant father or partner of a pregnant person can take unpaid time off to attend up to 2 ante-natal appointments
- They must have 26 weeks service by the 15th week before the due date
- Paternity leave is for a maximum of 2 weeks and must be taken in blocks of a full week (you can’t take individual or combinations of days)
- Employees should request Paternity leave by the 15th week before the due date and leave can’t start before the birth
- Statutory Paternity Pay is paid at government prescribed rates for the 2 week period
Shared Parental Leave
- Both parents can share up to 50 weeks of leave (and pay) depending on how much maternity or adoption leave has been taken
- Both parents must share caring responsibility for the child
- The parent taking shared parental leave must have 26 weeks service and the other parent must have worked for at least 26 or 66 weeks and have earned at least £30 a week in any 13 weeks
- Employees can claim up to 39 weeks Statutory Shared Parental Pay (depending on how much maternity or adoption pay has been used), but only one parent can claim this pay at any given time
- Leave can be booked in a continuous block or in several discontinuous blocks
- The rules on Shared Parental Leave and Pay can be quite complex, so its best to take advice
Adoption or Surrogacy Leave
- Where adopting a child as a couple, one person will be the Primary Adopter, the other the Secondary Adopter
- The Primary Adopter has rights similar to those of Maternity Leave and Pay
- The Secondary Adopter has rights similar to those of Paternity Leave and Pay
- Or both adopters can use Shared Parental Leave and Pay if they qualify
- Adoption leave isn’t available for someone adopting a partner’s child
Time off for Dependants
- Emergency unpaid time off to deal with circumstances surrounding the care of a dependant
- A dependant could be a child, parent, spouse or anyone who lives with you in a family way or relies on you for their care
- There’s no law on how much time an employee can take, but its designed for emergencies, not additional holidays
- Time off for dependants shouldn’t count towards your absence triggers (unless its becoming a regular and specific problem)
Parental Leave
- Employees must have 1 years’ service to be eligible for Parental Leave
- Parental Leave is unpaid time off to look after your child up to their 18th birthday
- Employees can take a total of 18 weeks Parental Leave (4 weeks each year) for each child and it has to be taken in weekly blocks (unless the child is disabled)
- 21 days’ notice of intention to take Parental Leave should be given and employers do have the right to postpone the leave if necessary
We’d also consider flexible working to fall under family friendly policies in some instances, but that’s a whole other blog!
If you need help understanding the rules or processes you need to follow for your team, please give us a call and we’ll be happy to help.
Do you have any questions about todays blog, need help in becoming legally compliant with contracts/policies or can we support you in taking away any people pains to give you peace of mind?
If you answered yes to any of the above, just give us a call at CUBE HR on 01282 678321, or book in a FREE 30 Minute HR Health Check here FREE HR Health Check and we’ll happily give your business a full HR overview with our personal recommendations absolutely FREE!
Why not also check out our blog on a similar topic Maternity Leave – 3 Things You Need to Know
We also have a YouTube channel with loads of handy videos outlining various HR related scenarios.
