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.
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...
O2 increases paid paternity leave to 14 weeks
Mobile network O2 has increased paid paternity leave for all permanent staff to 14 weeks, which it claimed is among...
‘Business lacks transparency over parental support’
LinkedIn has claimed to have revealed evidence of a “disconnect” between employers and employees over the issue of flexible work, as most working parents feel their employers are not fully open about their parental policies.
BNY Mellon’s flexible working policy review: what can HR learn?
Last week US bank BNY Mellon informed its employees it was “pausing” a review of its policies that allow them...
Men’s parental leave is key to women’s progression
On International Women’s Day, Lauren Touré looks at how encouraging men to share parental responsibilities can have a profound effect on female career progression.
Tax-Free Childcare failing to attract working families
Take-up of the government's Tax-Free Childcare benefit has been much slower than anticipated, official figures have shown.
Winter weather and work: five common employer queries
With parts of the UK experiencing heavy snowfall, we answer five common questions from employers on the workplace impact of...
Flexible working doesn’t diminish mums’ chronic stress
Biological indications for chronic stress are 40% higher in women bringing up two children while working full-time compared with colleagues...
New mums to receive six months more redundancy protection
Pregnant women and new mothers returning to work after having children are to receive greater protection from being treated unfairly,...
Single parents are largest underutilised talent pool in UK
Single parents are the most underutilised major pool of talent in the UK, with almost 200,000 unemployed, according to a...
Proposed requirement to publish family-friendly policies: implications for employers
The government is exploring the possibility of a new law requiring employers with more than 250 employees to publish details...
Staff feel pressured to demonstrate they are working from home
Almost half (46%) of employees feel under pressure to demonstrate they are actually working while working from home, research by...
UK’s most family-friendly workplaces revealed
The charity Working Families has published a list of the UK’s most family-friendly workplaces.
The top ten employers include banks,...
Supporting LGBT staff: Family-friendly leave for same-sex couples
When LGBT workers look to start a family, there are numerous rights and entitlements employers must be aware of. Hollie...
How to tailor benefits to a multi-generational workforce
Organisations increasingly employ workers from across three or four generations, which means they should be offering tailored benefits packages. James...
