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Family-friendly working

Employees have a number of fundamental family-friendly rights in the workplace. These include the right to maternity leave, paternity leave, and adoption leave. Shared parental leave is available to parents of children due on or after 5 April 2015, and adopters where the child is placed for adoption on or after 5 April 2015. Ordinary parental leave is a type of unpaid leave that can be taken until the child’s 18th birthday.

From 30 June 2015, the right to request flexible working was extended to all employees with 26 weeks’ qualifying service. Prior to this date, it was available to parents of young children and carers. All employees are also entitled to take a reasonable amount of time off work “to take action which is necessary” in relation to the care of certain dependants.


    • Hybrid working
    • Latest News
    • Family-friendly working

    Most flexible employers in the UK revealed

    by Ashleigh Webber 22 Feb 2024
    by Ashleigh Webber 22 Feb 2024

    The proportion of larger firms in the top 100 most flexible employers in the UK is creeping up, but small firms still dominate.

    • Childcare
    • Latest News
    • Family-friendly working

    Two in five parents seeking new jobs in pursuit of support

    by Ashleigh Webber 12 Feb 2024
    by Ashleigh Webber 12 Feb 2024

    Two in five working parents are looking to switch jobs in 2024, according to the latest Modern Families Index.

    • Latest News
    • Family-friendly working
    • Flexible working

    Employees unaware of new flexible working rights

    by Ashleigh Webber 14 Dec 2023
    by Ashleigh Webber 14 Dec 2023

    Seven in 10 employees are unaware that they will soon have the right to request flexible working from their first day in a job.

    • Family-friendly benefits
    • Family-friendly working
    • Personnel Today Awards

    Bank of Ireland wins 2023 Family Friendly Employer of the Year

    by Ashleigh Webber 21 Nov 2023
    by Ashleigh Webber 21 Nov 2023

    We look at the winners and runners-up of the Personnel Today Awards 2023 Family Friendly Employer of the Year category.

    • Latest News
    • Family-friendly working
    • Flexible working

    Less than a third of job ads mention flexibility

    by Ashleigh Webber 14 Nov 2023
    by Ashleigh Webber 14 Nov 2023

    The number of jobs ads with flexible working options has plateaued at just 31%, research by Timewise has found.

    • Maternity
    • Latest News
    • Family-friendly benefits

    Mothers struggling to access flexible working and career development

    by Ashleigh Webber 6 Nov 2023
    by Ashleigh Webber 6 Nov 2023

    Less than one in three working mothers have access to the flexible working arrangement they need, research has found.

    • Adoption
    • Neonatal leave
    • Maternity

    Tesco introduces paid leave for kinship carers

    by Ashleigh Webber 27 Sep 2023
    by Ashleigh Webber 27 Sep 2023

    Tesco has introduced 26 weeks' paid kinship leave for employees granted Special Guardianship Orders, among other family-friendly policies.

    • Latest News
    • Family-friendly benefits
    • Family-friendly working

    Top family-friendly employers for 2023 named

    by Ashleigh Webber 20 Sep 2023
    by Ashleigh Webber 20 Sep 2023

    Law firms, banks, building societies, universities and public bodies are among the top family-friendly employers for 2023.

    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Gender
    • Latest News

    ‘Future-focused’ sectors risk excluding women on low incomes

    by Ashleigh Webber 9 Aug 2023
    by Ashleigh Webber 9 Aug 2023

    Employers in 'future-focused' industries risk alienating women from low-income backgrounds if they do not change their working practices.

    • Latest News
    • Employment contracts
    • Family-friendly working

    Term-time contracts: what HR needs to know

    by Leslie Martin 20 Jun 2023
    by Leslie Martin 20 Jun 2023

    What should term-time contracts include, who is entitled to request one, and what are the potential legal pitfalls for employers?

    • Nursery provision
    • Childcare
    • Latest News

    Budget 2023: Free childcare expanded to younger children

    by Jo Faragher 15 Mar 2023
    by Jo Faragher 15 Mar 2023

    Free childcare for working parents in England will be expanded to children between the ages of nine months and two,...

    • Nursery provision
    • Childcare
    • Age

    What can we expect from the ‘back-to-work’ Budget?

    by Jo Faragher 13 Mar 2023
    by Jo Faragher 13 Mar 2023

    The Chancellor has hinted that this week’s Budget will be a ‘back-to-work’ plan that will offer more help with childcare...

    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Gender
    • Latest News

    International Women’s Day 2023 puts equity above equality

    by Adam McCulloch 7 Mar 2023
    by Adam McCulloch 7 Mar 2023

    The message of International Women’s Day 2023 is that businesses and individuals should ‘embrace equity’. What does this mean?

    • Gender
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Latest News

    France rated best overall for gender equality in the workplace

    by Adam McCulloch 3 Mar 2023
    by Adam McCulloch 3 Mar 2023

    UK-based drinks supplier Diageo is the second highest placed firm in a study of global gender equality.

    • Collective redundancy
    • Latest News
    • Discrimination

    Twitter faces sex discrimination case in the US following mass sackings

    by Ashleigh Webber 9 Dec 2022
    by Ashleigh Webber 9 Dec 2022

    Former Twitter employees have filed a sex discrimination class action case, claiming women were disproportionately affected by dismissals.

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Personnel Today
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