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United Kingdom -- Employment Relations Minister Jim Fitzpatrick today (14 May) set out new paternity leave proposals being developed by the Government, which allow a father to use the remainder of a mother's maternity leave if she does not use it all up.
Publishing the latest consultation on the proposals, Fitzpatrick said:
"We know that people want greater flexibility to better juggle their work and family life and that fathers increasingly want to play a bigger part in the upbringing of their children.
"If a mother wants to return to work before her child's first birthday, the father will be able to take some, or all, of the second half of the child's first year as paid paternity leave. For the first time ever, this will give parents the flexibility to divide a period of paid leave between them. Parents will be able to decide how to best balance work and family commitments."
 The consultation seeks views on how the administration of additional Paternity Leave and Pay will work in practice. The Government has said that it wants to keep the process as straightforward as possible for both employees and their employers.
Although the term 'father' is commonly used when describing additional paternity leave and pay, it is the Government's intention to make additional Paternity Leave and Pay also available to partners and civil partners of mothers and members of adopting couples who meet the eligibility criteria.
The consultation sets out proposals on the administration that will give fathers the opportunity to choose to take up to 26 weeks Additional Paternity Leave to care for their child if certain conditions are met, including the mother returning to work. In particular, the Government will be seeking feedback on the following:
- whether the father and mother should be able to self-certify themselves as eligible for the scheme. This would keep the process straightforward for businesses; and
- how the scheme will work best in practice, and whether checklists and new official forms would provide employers with the confidence to administer the scheme effectively and employees to participate in it.
The Government proposes introducing this new provision by the end of this Parliament at the same time as extending maternity pay to 12 months. The earliest date that Additional Paternity Leave and Pay will be implemented will be for babies due in April 2009. However, this is not a firm date for introduction.
Criticism has been levelled at the proposals, particularly the difficulties that will result for employers from having to administer the leave. In a joint CIPD/KPMG survey carried out last year, almost two-thirds (64%) of employers surveyed think that these additional paternity leave provisions will cause them either some (48%) -- or significant (16%) -- difficulties.
The latest consultation document can be found at http://www.gnn.gov.uk/environment/dti.
This second consultation follows one that was carried out last year, which asked 18 questions relating to aspects of the proposals. more info>>
The Additional Paternity Leave proposals are contained in section 3 of the Work and Families Act. The other key measures contained in the Act came into force on 6 April 2007. These included:
- extending maternity and adoption pay from six to nine months, towards the goal of a year's paid leave by the end of the Parliament;
- widening the scope of the existing law to enable those who care for adults to request to work flexibly;
- introducing measures to help employers manage the administration of leave and pay and plan ahead with greater certainty; and
- helping employers and employees benefit from improved communication during maternity leave.
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Workplace Law Network's newly revised Non-contractual Paternity Policy and Management Guide, version 3.0 is available to download. The Policy provides clear guidance to employees as to their entitlement to take paid leave following the birth of a child, and the procedure they have to adopt in order to receive it. The policy also acts as a checklist for managers in order to ensure that applications for paternity leave are dealt with fairly and consistently throughout the organisation. |
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