Today, we held our quarterly HR Forum at The Executive Business Centre in Bournemouth on Family Friendly Rights.
The HR professionals attending had plenty of questions for our employment lawyers on the new paternity rights and other aspects of leave and flexible working, and a couple of questions came up which needed additional explanation. We promised to update you all via our blog - our comprehensive answers are below!
Q – What happens if a child dies during an employee’s Additional Paternity Leave under the new Additional Paternity Leave Regulations?
A – The situation will be exactly the same as when an adoption is disrupted or does not take place once a period of adoption leave has already started. If a child unfortunately dies while an employee is on Additional Paternity Leave the leave continues for a further 8 weeks, or ends on the planned end date if this is less than 8 weeks after the death of the child.
Q – When does the 12 month period start in relation to an employee being able to make a further request for flexible working? Does it start on the date they first made an application or from the date they are informed of the decision?
A – An employee can only make one application for flexible working in a 12 month period. The 12 month period begins from the date the employee makes the first application. So, for example, an employee makes a request for flexible working on 1 September 2010. The employer holds a meeting and rejects the request on 30 September 2010. The employee appeals the decision and the employer rejects the appeal on 14 October 2010. The earliest date on which the employee can make another request for flexible working is 1 September 2011 and not on either 30 September 2011 or 14 October 2011.
I hope this helps! Any other questions? Please post them here for discussion or email or call one of the team directly. See you at the next HR Forum!
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