The Employment Law Changes Working Parents Need to Know

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2023 brought about some significant changes to HR law, many of which impact working parents. This article sets out the main changes set to come into force over the next couple of years.

Changes to flexible working requests

Last year the Government announced changes to the flexible working regime which will come into force on 6 April 2024.  The changes are set out in the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023.

The current position, prior to 6 April, is that employees with 26 weeks’ continuous employment can request flexible working i.e. you must be employed for 6 months before making a request.  From 6 April 2024, the right to request flexible working becomes a ‘day one right’ meaning employees can request flexible working from the first day of their employment.  Flexible working requests are not confined to working parents, but are often categorised as a pseudo-parental right, as they are most commonly by working parents (and most commonly working mothers) to accommodate childcare needs.

There are other changes set out in the new regulations.  Whilst we don’t yet have a commencement order confirming exactly when these will come into effect, it is currently expected that the other changes will also come into force on 6 April.  These changes are:

  1. Employees can make two flexible working requests in each 12 month period, compared to the current rules which only allow one request every 12 months;

  2. Currently employees are required to explain in their request the impact they think the request will have on the employer.  The new rules remove this requirement;

  3. Employers will now be required to consult with employees before refusing their requests; and

  4. A new time limit requiring employers to respond to requests within 2 months.

Pregnancy, maternity and redundancy protection

Currently, where an employee on ordinary or additional maternity leave (or adoption or shared parental leave) is potentially redundant, she is entitled to be offered any suitable available vacancy with the employer, its successor or any associated employer in priority to other potentially redundant employees.  This is a special protection currently only available to women on maternity leave.

However from 6 April 2024, when the Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023 comes into force, the redundancy protection is extended for both pregnant women and maternity leave returners.  The changes are:

  • Protection for pregnant women – redundancy protection will start from the date the employee tells the employer about their pregnancy.  The protected period for pregnancy will end on the day statutory maternity leave commences, or for employees who are not entitled to statutory maternity leave (e.g. they did not have the required length of service), the protected period will end 2 weeks after the end of the pregnancy.

  • For maternity leave returners, the protected period will end 18 months after the expected week of childbirth or the actual date of childbirth if the employer has been informed of this.

  • The protected period is also extended for parents on adoption leave and will end 18 months after the child’s placement or entry into Great Britain in the case of overseas adoptions.

  • For those taking six or more consecutive weeks of shared parental leave but who have not taken maternity or adoption leave, the additional protected period ends 18 months after the date of the child's birth or placement (or date they enter Great Britain).

The effect of this is that people in the protected period will be given priority for alternative roles in redundancy situations.

Neonatal leave and pay

Finally, The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 received Royal Assent in May 2023 and is expected to come into force in April 2025 (though this has not yet been confirmed).  This act introduces a new category of leave and pay for parents of children requiring neonatal care.  Parents will be entitled to up to 12 weeks’ leave and pay which must be taken within 68 weeks (or 18 months) of birth.

It is hoped that this may come into force sooner than 2025, but as HMRC need to update their systems to accommodate the new leave, the Government has not been able to confirm this as at the date of writing.

 

If you have any queries about parental rights, please contact Charlotte Braham by email or on 01494 893529.