Support your employees at work with the right maternity leave, adoption leave, parental leave and other absences that they are entitled to within the UK.
The majority of your team are probably parents or will become parents during their employment with you. It’s highly likely that this is a large percentage of your team. In 202,1 the Office for National Statistics reported 92% of employees were fathers and 75% were mothers.
As a working parent one of the key elements a candidate will look for in their employer or prospective employer is a positive attitude towards work-life balance. As an employer having a positive attitude and offering flexibility means you are likely to attract high calibre working parents but also meet your statutory obligations.
Our HR consultancy has put together an Employment Guide that simply sets out the rights of parents at work and the benefits these group of employees can bring to your business.
Pregnant employees are protected under the Equality Act 2010 from unfair treatment and discrimination. They do not need 2 years qualifying length of service to bring a claim for discrimination due to pregnancy or maternity.
Depending on eligibility pregnant employees are entitled to statutory maternity pay, however all employees are entitled to maternity leave.
Pregnant employees are entitled to reasonable time off with pay for antenatal appointments and care.
Each pregnancy is different so some employees may have more antenatal appointments than others.
Partners are entitled to attend up to 2 ante natal appointments, unpaid.
An employer can ask to see an appointment card as evidence of antenatal appointments.
Where a pregnant employee is absent due to their pregnancy and not for other sickness conditions, you should seek advice as absence related to pregnancy is not managed in the same way as other sickness absence. It is possible that an employee can be placed on maternity leave earlier.
Consider making reasonable adjustments, even redeploying the pregnant employee into another role to help the employee stay on at work during their pregnancy.
If the employee is absent from work due to pregnancy related sickness, the employer can start maternity leave early if the absence is 4 weeks before the due date.
All pregnant employees, regardless of length of service are entitled to 52 weeks maternity leave.
The employee should inform you when their baby is due, when they would like to commence maternity leave and provide a copy of their MATB1 certificate they will obtain from their midwife. This information should be provided at least 15 weeks before the expected due date.
If an employee wants to change the date when they want to start maternity leave, they must provide at least 28 days’ notice.
The 52 weeks of maternity leave is split into 26 weeks of Ordinary maternity leave and 26 weeks of Additional maternity leave.
If the pregnant employee meets the statutory eligibility requirements they are entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP). The rate of SMP is set each year and rises in April each year. They receive 39 weeks of SMP. The first 6 weeks are 90% of their usual pay followed by 33 weeks of SMP.
Employees on maternity leave can work up to 10 days called Keeping In Touch days (KIT) without it affecting their maternity leave. The employee is paid their normal daily rate for each KIT day.
Once an employee informs you they are pregnant, you must undertake a health and safety risk assessment of their working environment and make any reasonable adjustments where any hazards have been identified.
If you would like to know more about UK maternity leave, our HR consultants can support employers and employees in taking the right approach that complies with all legislation.
Statutory paternity leave is two weeks leave that can be taken in blocks of one or two weeks. It can be taken once the baby is born or upon the adoption of the child.
If the employee is eligible they are entitled to receive Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) which is usually the same rate as SMP. If you would like to know how how much is statutory sick pay, our human resource management professionals can explain this further and provide clear insight into the requirements of your business in this aspect.
Adoption leave commences the date the adopted child lives with the adoptive parents. The earliest it can commence is 14 days before the child moves in.
Adoption leave works in the same way as maternity leave.
New parents can decide to share maternity leave between them by way of shared parental leave. It is usually taken in blocks of weeks or taken in one go. It allows both parents to share the 50 weeks of leave. The mother must take the first 2 weeks of leave following the birth of the baby.
Parents of children under the age of 18 are entitled to unpaid time off work, up to 18 weeks per child, to care for their children.
The leave must be taken in blocks of weeks and agreed with the employer when they can take the leave.
You also have an obligation to carry out a health and safety assessment for new mothers returning to workplace who are breast feeding. There is a requirement to provide a place for mothers who are breast feeding to be able to rest, express milk and store the milk safely.
If the employee is returning to work at the end of Ordinary maternity leave, they are entitled to return to the same job, same terms and conditions of employment.
Parents who unfortunately lose a child, under the age of 18, have the right to two weeks’ parental bereavement leave.
Providing your employees with a good work life balance helps to attract and retain good employees.
The coronavirus pandemic and working from home demonstrated that in most cases employees are able to work from home or more recently on a hybrid model.
Flexibility is an important element candidates are looking for in their employment and where they experience flexibility with a positive attitude, employees are loyal and productive.
At Lunar HR, we offer comprehensive HR management services designed to streamline your human resources processes and maximise the potential of your workforce. Our team is well-versed in the latest HR technologies and practices, enabling us to provide efficient and cost-effective solutions. We can assist you in designing and implementing HR policies and procedures that comply with labor laws and regulations, fostering a fair and inclusive work environment.
If you would like to discuss any aspect of employing parents, give Lunar HR, a trusted HR consultancy in Birmingham, a call on 07508 022261.
We are friendly and approachable and we would love to hear from you.
If you would like to enquire about any of our services or just have a question you would like to ask, please contact us and we will be more than happy to answer your questions.
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