Maternity Leave

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There is no qualifying employment period required for any employee to be entitled to maternity leave. 

 

Ordinary Maternity Leave ("OML") lasts for 26 weeks, including 2 weeks of compulsory maternity leave which the employee must take.   The statutory notification requirements must be met in order to enjoy the right to OML. If an employee qualifies for OML they will also qualify for additional maternity leave which lasts for a further 26 weeks.  Additional Maternity Leave ("AML") may be taken for a further 26 weeks.

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Unless the employment contract provides otherwise, an employee is not entitled to their normal rate of pay during OML or AML.  However, may be eligible for statutory maternity pay (SMP) for a period of 39 weeks in total.

 

During the first 6 weeks of maternity leave the employee is entitled to the "earnings-related rate" which is 90% of her normal weekly earnings. For the remaining 33 weeks, the employee would receive the "prescribed rate" which is the lesser of 90% of her average earnings and £184.03 (the current SMP rate) .

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In addition to the above rights pregnant employees have the right to take paid time off to attend ante-natal care classes; qualifying employees and workers are able to accompany the mother to some ante-natal care appointments. There is also the right to take adoption leave, in certain circumstances.

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Additionally, the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023, which received Royal Assent on 24 May 2023, will soon allow eligible employees to receive up to 12 weeks of paid leave if their child spends at least seven days in neonatal care. This provision is expected to come into force post-6 April 2025.

 

Paternity Leave

 

From 8 March 2024, new legislation makes changes to statutory paternity leave and pay regulations. Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024

 

The changes apply where children are due to be born or placed for adoption after 6 April 2024. 

 

The following statutory provisions will change:

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• fathers and partners can choose to split their leave and pay into two non-consecutive periods of leave of a week each

• fathers and partners will be able to take their leave and pay any time during the first 52 weeks of the birth or the placement of the child for adoption

• employees will need to inform their employer of their entitlement to their leave 15 weeks before the expected week of childbirth, however, employees will only need to give 28 days’ notice of the dates they wish to take.

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To qualify for paternity, the father must have worked with his employer for at least 26 weeks ending with the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth. This right applies to not only the child's biological father, but also to the mother's husband, civil partner or partner at the time.

 

The employee may also be eligible to receive statutory paternity pay which is the lesser of 90% of their average weekly earnings and £184.03 (the current statutory paternity pay rate) .

 

Parental Leave

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Parental Leave is unpaid time off from work to care for a child/ren or make arrangements for the child/rens' well-being.   Parents can take up to 18 weeks (per child) off work, as long as the child is under 18.   There is a requirement to have worked for the employer for at least a year before making a request to take parental leave and this must be done with at least 21 days notice of a wish to take parental leave.   The statutory scheme allows an employee to take leave in blocks of 1 week.  Up to a maximum of 4 weeks' parental leave can be taken in any one year.   An employer can decide that they will allow a variation to the statutory block and reduce it to days.  They are however, able to postpone the taking of leave for up to 6 months, if there is a business need and employee's absence is likely to cause harm to the business.

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Shared Parental Leave

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Shared Parental Leave ("SPL") is available to eligible parents where their baby was born or for parents of children placed for adoption after 5 April 2015.  SPL does not affect Parental Leave.

 

A mother or primary adopter is entitled to 52 weeks of Maternity/Adoption Leave.  There is an option to bring that leave to an end early and share what would have been the remainder of the Maternity/Adoption Leave with the child's father or the mother's husband or civil partner or partner; or, in the case of adoption, the secondary adopter (the "other parent").

 

The mother's partner for these purposes is a person (whether of a different sex or the same sex) who lives with the mother and with the child in an enduring family relationship.  A mother must take her 2 weeks compulsory Maternity Leave and the primary adopter must similarly take 2 weeks' Adoption Leave.   The other parent who has caring responsibilities for the child is entitled to take their 2 weeks' Ordinary Paternity Leave ("OPL").   However, the other parent must take their Paternity Leave prior to any SPL as otherwise they will lose their entitlement to Paternity Leave. 

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Time off for dependents

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Employees are able to take a reasonable amount of unpaid time off in the event of an emergency or if something unexpected occurs, such as if an employee's childcare falls through. All employees are entitled to this time off, regardless of how long they have worked for their employer. The situation must involve a dependent who, in addition to a child, may be the employee's spouse, civil partner, parent or a person living in the same household who is not their employee, tenant, lodger or boarder. If the employee was aware of the event in advance, they are not generally entitled to exercise this right.

 

Parental bereavement leave and pay

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The Parental Bereavement (Pay and Leave) Act 2018 entitles employees who find themselves in the tragic situation of having lost a child under the age of 18 to have 2 weeks' bereavement leave and, for those with the necessary 26 weeks qualifying service, paid leave.   The leave can be taken as one two week period, two separate periods of one week, or as one single week.  The leave can start on or after the date of the death or still birth, and must finish within 56 weeks of the death or still birth.  

 

Carers Leave 

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The Carer’s Leave Act 2023 stipulates that the leave is available to employees who need to give or arrange care for a dependant who have:

• a physical or mental illness or injury that means they need care for more than three months

• a disability which is defined by the Equality Act 2010

• they need care because of their old age.

 

There is no criteria for any length of service from 6 April 2024 for employees in England, Scotland and Wales. This will mean that if you care for a dependant you are entitled to one week of unpaid leave per year to provide that care.

 

If you are an employer it is your choice if you use discretion to continue to pay your employees. It also means that you need to implement a carer’s leave policy to include information on who meets the definition of carers and dependants, and to explain how much notice you will require and if employees will be paid or unpaid.

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Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave)

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From 6 April 2024, the Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023 enhances protection from redundancy for new or expectant parents. This means that if there is a prospect of redundancy, then a suitable alternative job must be offered. Failure to do so could be automatic unfair dismissal and discrimination.

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The Statutory Rates from 1 April 2024

 

National Living Wage

21+ Year Old Rate                                       £11.44

18-20 Year Old Rate                                    £8.60

Under 18 Rate                                                 £6.40

Apprentice Rate                                            £6.40

Accommodation Offset                          £9.99

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SSP per week                                              £116.75

Lower Earnings Limit per week      £123.00