[UK] Plans to relax paternity leave rules announced

The UK Government has announced its intention to introduce legislation making it easier for fathers to take paternity leave, Mondaq reports.

In June, the Government published its response to a 2019 consultation on reforming parental leave and pay entitlements.

As part of the response, the Government announced plans to make the following changes to the paternity leave framework which BDBF Employment Law summarised for Mondaq:

• Discontinuous blocks of leave: eligible employees will be able to take their two weeks' statutory paternity leave in two separate blocks of one week of leave. At present only one week or a single block of two weeks may be taken.

• A longer window for taking leave: BDBF says eligible employees will be able to take their statutory paternity leave within 52 weeks of birth or placement for adoption. It must currently be taken in the first eight weeks after birth or placement for adoption.

• Notice requirements simplified: existing notice requirements will reportedly be changed to make them more proportionate to the amount of time the father or partner plans to take off work. It is proposed that fathers will need to give 28 days' notice before each period of leave they intend to take, however, the notice of entitlement will still need to be given 15 weeks before birth.

The Government also confirmed that it does not intend to reform either the shared parental leave or unpaid parental leave frameworks.

It is not yet known when the announced changes will come into force. The Government has stated that secondary legislation needed to effect them will be introduced in due course.

Source: Mondaq

(Link via orignal reporting)

The UK Government has announced its intention to introduce legislation making it easier for fathers to take paternity leave, Mondaq reports.

In June, the Government published its response to a 2019 consultation on reforming parental leave and pay entitlements.

As part of the response, the Government announced plans to make the following changes to the paternity leave framework which BDBF Employment Law summarised for Mondaq:

• Discontinuous blocks of leave: eligible employees will be able to take their two weeks' statutory paternity leave in two separate blocks of one week of leave. At present only one week or a single block of two weeks may be taken.

• A longer window for taking leave: BDBF says eligible employees will be able to take their statutory paternity leave within 52 weeks of birth or placement for adoption. It must currently be taken in the first eight weeks after birth or placement for adoption.

• Notice requirements simplified: existing notice requirements will reportedly be changed to make them more proportionate to the amount of time the father or partner plans to take off work. It is proposed that fathers will need to give 28 days' notice before each period of leave they intend to take, however, the notice of entitlement will still need to be given 15 weeks before birth.

The Government also confirmed that it does not intend to reform either the shared parental leave or unpaid parental leave frameworks.

It is not yet known when the announced changes will come into force. The Government has stated that secondary legislation needed to effect them will be introduced in due course.

Source: Mondaq

(Link via orignal reporting)