On 20 March 2024, the Shared Parental Leave and Pay (Bereavement) Bill was substantially amended at the committee stage and even renamed to the Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Bill (the Bill). Originally, the Bill proposed that bereaved fathers or other working partners receive immediate access to Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and pay from the first day of employment, i.e. leave and pay would be “day-one” rights. This was to eliminate the current requirements of 26 weeks of employment and three months’ notice. The Bill was aimed at providing immediate support to fathers or partners who lose the child’s mother during or shortly after childbirth, ensuring they are not disadvantaged by the existing continuous employment criteria. We published an article on the Bill last month which can be found here.
An instruction was issued on 5 March 2024 to allow for amendments to the Bill to expand this entitlement to adoptive parents and individuals involved in surrogacy arrangements who experience the death of a partner. These amendments were indeed incorporated during the committee stage and the Bill was expanded even further to encompass paternity leave as well.
If the Bill progresses in its revised form, it will modify the Employment Rights Act 1996 to:
- Replace SPL with paternity leave as the means through which bereaved fathers and partners are entitled to take time off following the death of the child’s mother or adoptive parent, regardless of the 26-week employment requirement for paternity leave. This provision would extend to parents of adopted children or children born through surrogacy.
- Remove the existing rule which prohibits a parent from taking paternity leave after SPL.
- Permit the father or partner to continue paternity leave for a given period in the event the child also dies (or is returned after adoption). This would be an exception to the typical reasons for paternity leave i.e. supporting the mother or caring for the child.
- Enhance job security for bereaved employees returning to work from an extended period of paternity leave. They would be entitled to “keep-in-touch” (KIT) days and have the flexibility to perform work for their employer without this automatically ending their paternity leave.
The law on statutory paternity leave and pay changed on 6 April 2024 as a result of the Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 coming into effect earlier in March 2024. This legislation provides that from 6 April 2024, those who qualify for paternity leave are entitled to split their leave into one-week blocks, rather than having to take it all at once. Previously, employees had to take their statutory paternity leave within 56 days of their child’s birth, but under the new legislation they are permitted to take leave at any stage within the first year. Another update is that the notification period for employees to notify their employer that they wish to take leave has been reduced from fifteen weeks to four weeks before the expected week of childbirth. These changes aim to provide fathers and partners with greater flexibility and control over how they balance their time with their family and work life. You can find an article here, which we published in January 2024 discussing these changes.
Despite the new legislation surrounding paternity leave, there has been some public disappointment at how the actual duration of statutory paternity leave remains unchanged, with campaigners arguing that the standard two-week period is inadequate for fathers or partners to establish a bond with their newborn or to provide sufficient support for their partners. However, during the committee stage for the Bill, the term “extended paternity leave” was mentioned, hinting that future regulations may increase the amount of paternity leave in bereavement cases.
More family-friendly legislation came into force in April 2024. The new Carer’s Leave Regulations took effect on 6 April 2024. They enable employees to take up to one week of unpaid leave annually to care for dependents with significant care needs. This entitlement is available from the first day of employment and allows leave to be taken in full or half-day increments, aligned with the employee’s normal working week pattern. While employers cannot request proof due to data protection concerns, they can encourage self-identification among staff with caring responsibilities. The legislation, impacting a significant segment of the workforce, is designed to support carers in maintaining employment and aiding businesses in staff retention. Employers are advised to ensure their policies are updated in line with the new regulations.
It continues to be a busy time adapting to family-friendly legislative changes. If you have any queries arising from the same, please do not hesitate to get in touch with your usual Dentons contact.
