Family-friendly rights: a whistle-stop tour

To continue reading please register or login to your OHW+ account.

Shared parental leave has been in the press again of late, with a new father winning a sex discrimination claim for his employer’s failure to enhance its shared parental pay. How can employers stay on top of the various family-friendly rights available to employees? Sarah Anderson provides a whistle-stop tour of who is entitled to what, and when.

1. Statutory maternity leave

A pregnant employee has a right to take 52 weeks’ maternity leave. There is no requirement for a minimum period of qualifying service: maternity leave is a "day-one right". To qualify for statutory maternity pay, a pregnant employee must meet certain eligibility criteria. Statutory maternity pay is payable for up to 39 weeks. The first six weeks are payable at 90% of the employee's average weekly earnings. The remaining 33 weeks are paid at the flat rate in force at the time or at 90% of the employee's average weekly earnings where this figure is less than the flat rate.

• How does an employer determine an employee's right to statutory maternity pay?

2. Statutory adoption leave

An eligible employee who has adopted a child, or who is one of a couple who have jointly adopted a child, is entitled to take 52 weeks' adoption leave. Adoption leave is a day-one right, and statutory adoption pay