The Government has published a consultation on administering shared parental leave and pay. The consultation sets out details of how the scheme will work in practice and states that it will be called ‘shared’ rather than ‘flexible’ parental leave and pay, so as to distinguish it from the EU-derived individual entitlement to unpaid parental leave, which may also be taken flexibly. The consultation closes on 17 May 2013.
The Government will introduce a statutory ‘day one’ right for fathers, partners of pregnant women, and certain intended parents of children born through surrogacy to unpaid time off work to attend up to two ante-natal appointments capped at 6.5 hours per appointment.
A father, a mother’s partner or a ‘secondary adopter’ (an individual in a couple who is not designated as the ‘primary adopter’) will continue to be entitled to up to two continuous weeks’ paid paternity leave. The Government proposes aligning the notice periods for paternity leave and pay to require an employer to be given notice at least 15 weeks before the expected week of confinement (or within 7 days of being matched with a child for adopters) for both paternity leave and pay.
Paul Burton, Employment Solicitor, says "To qualify for shared parental leave and pay both parents (birth or adoptive or intended parents in surrogacy agreements) will need to meet a two-stage test." Eligibility for the shared parental leave system for one parent/carer is dependent on the other parent/carer being economically active, as defined by an economic activity test. This stage one ‘joint’ test requires a partner to have worked for any 26 out of the 66 weeks preceding the baby's due date, or the adoption matching date (or date of the child’s entry into the UK for overseas adopters), and to have earned at least £30 gross salary per week for any 13 of those 66 weeks.
The Government seeks views on the cut-off point after which parents will no longer be able to use any outstanding shared parental leave or pay entitlement. This point could either be (a) 52 weeks from the start of the woman’s maternity leave; or (b) the child’s first birthday (potentially extending the maximum period to take leave by around 13 weeks).
Get in touch if you need more information on this topic. You should find the other articles in March's employment newsletter of interest.
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