Statutory maternity leave to be transferable to father - September 09
The Government have announced that they will shortly be consulting on their proposed changes to paternity leave. Currently, mothers are entitled to 52 weeks maternity leave, of which up to 39 weeks are paid and fathers are entitled to up two weeks paid paternity leave.
However, under the new proposals mothers who have maternity leave outstanding in the second six months of a child’s life will be able to transfer up to six months of their maternity leave to the father. Up to 3 months of that leave will be paid at the same rate as Statutory Maternity Pay (currently £123.06 a week) if the leave is taken during the mother’s 39 week maternity pay period.
This will give families greater flexibility in deciding how they will look after their children and give parents the option of dividing a period of paid leave between them. Mothers would therefore be able to return to work after six months and the father could stay at home for the remainder of the 12 months. The proposals involve parents certifying themselves as to their eligibility to the scheme and passing on this information to their employers. However, both employers and HMRC will be able to carry out further checks regarding entitlement if it becomes necessary.
As well as being hailed as a “family friendly” policy, the government argues that the scheme has been designed to make sure that the administrative burden on employers will be minimal. Employers will be given time to adjust and prepare for the introduction of the scheme. The aim is for the regulations to be in force by April 2010; however, the scheme will only be effective for parents of children due on or after 3 April 2011. The government have conceded that they believe the take-up of additional paternity leave will only be about 6% and will affect less than 1% of small businesses. However employers are concerned that it may be difficult to anticipate which male staff may take up this option and therefore difficult to plan accordingly.
This is part of a raft of legislation introduced by the government to help families which has included the extension of Statutory Maternity Leave, the increase in Statutory Maternity Pay and the introduction of Statutory Paternity Leave.
If you would like further advice on this issue, please contact a member of the Rickerbys employment team. |
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