Maternity & paternity
Pregnant employees are entitled to take 52 weeks' maternity leave. Pregnant employees' partners are entitled to take two weeks' ordinary paternity leave provided that they have the required continuous service.
Parents with babies due on or after 5 April 2015 are entitled to take shared parental leave. Shared parental leave enables mothers to commit to ending their maternity leave and pay at a future date, and to share the untaken balance of leave and pay as shared parental leave and pay with their partner.
Theresa May considers 12 weeks’ paid paternity policy
Theresa May could offer fathers 12 weeks’ paid paternity leave as one of her ’legacy’ policies before she leaves office as Prime Minister.
One in four dads miss out on paid paternity leave
Almost a quarter (23%) of new fathers did not qualify for statutory paid paternity leave last year, either because they...
JPMorgan Chase settles US paternity leave case for $5m
JPMorgan Chase will pay $5m to settle a discrimination claim filed by a male employee in the US
Employers can enhance maternity pay and not shared parental pay
The Court of Appeal has ruled that employers can enhance maternity pay, while only offering statutory shared parental pay for fathers.
Employee wins pregnancy discrimination case
A woman has won a claim of unfair dismissal and discrimination after resigning from her job because of her employer's attitude toward her pregnancy.
MP seeks to rescue new mums’ redundancy protection plans
The government is accused of dragging its feet over protections for new mothers as a private member's bill is introduced in the House of Commons...
What can be learned from Denmark’s parental leave and childcare policies?
Denmark has some of the most generous parental leave and childcare support schemes in the world. But have these had...
Employers ‘failing to take pregnant workers’ health seriously’
Employers need to do “far more” to protect the health and wellbeing of pregnant staff, with travel commitments and irregular...
Appeal court hears parental pay discrimination claims
The Court of Appeal has heard two cases that consider whether it is discriminatory for employers to enhance maternity pay but not shared parental pay
How should employers support returning mothers’ mental health?
Returning to work after maternity leave can be a stressful time for a new mother and managers should be alive...
Champion flexible working to improve parents’ work-life balance
Support for flexible working should be visible from leadership level to help create “human-sized” jobs that enable a greater work-life...
Top 10 HR questions April 2019: Maximum compensation, holiday entitlement and positive action
The annual increase to the limits on compensation that can be awarded in an...
Employers should publish new mum retention rates, MPs urge
Large organisations should be forced to publish retention rates for new mothers returning to the workplace in order to tackle...
Shared parental leave and pay – equalising opportunities?
With reports citing that only 1% of those eligible took a period of shared parental leave in 2018 it is...
Webinar: Managing sickness absence during pregnancy
Employers need to take particular care when managing sickness absence during pregnancy as the legal framework protecting pregnant employees is...
