Thursday 21 February 2013

Children and Families Bill


Children and Families Bill: shared parental leave, time off for ante-natal appointments and flexible working


On 4 February 2013, the Children and Families Bill 2012-13 was introduced in the House of Commons. It implements, among other things, the family-friendly proposals contained in the government's Consultation on Modern Workplaces. The Bill will introduce a new system of shared parental leave. Under this system, an eligible mother will continue to receive 52 weeks' maternity leave as a day one right. Following the completion of the two weeks of compulsory maternity leave, the mother can choose to end her leave early and share the remainder of her leave with her partner. There will be new statutory payments for parents on shared parental leave with the same qualifying requirements that currently apply to statutory maternity and paternity pay.
 
The Bill will allow partners of pregnant women and fathers of expected children unpaid time off to attend ante-natal appointments and prospective adoptive parents time off to attend adoption meetings. It will also extend the right to request flexible working arrangements to all employees and repeal the statutory procedure for considering such requests.
 
For more information, visit the Alpha HR website.

Tuesday 12 February 2013

Early Conciliation

 
The Government is currently consulting on Early Conciliation, which will require most potential tribunal claims to be referred to Acas for conciliation before a claim can be made at an Employment Tribunal.

Provisions to require Early Conciliation are included in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill but the consultation also contains draft regulations and the detail of how Early Conciliation will be implemented.

The consultation closes on 15 February 2013.