The family-friendly workplace

Transcription

1 The family-friendly workplace A Guest Article by Linda Stewart and Parveen Attri June 2015

2 What businesses need to know Employers who understand and accept the diversity of their workforce when it comes to family-friendly policies are likely to be ahead of the game. Traditional perceptions about what a family looks like must make way for a more realistic view that factors in the needs of single parents, adoptive parents and same-sex couples. Overcoming employer cynicism and replacing it with trust is vital to achieving workplace practices that will allow all parents to balance caring responsibilities with demands at work. As the economy continues to recover, employers who recognise the business benefits associated with family-friendly policies and flexible working, as opposed to those who take minimum steps to ensure that they do not fall foul of the law, are likely to attract the most highly skilled, talented and loyal staff. Here we set out some of the changes that have recently taken effect, and explain what businesses need to know to make sure they meet their responsibilities towards budding families and individuals in Shared Parental Leave launched on 1 December 2014 Hailed by many as a step towards genuine equality, this new provision applies to parents of children born or matched for adoption from 5 April. Employed mothers will continue to be entitled to 52 weeks of maternity leave and must take the initial two weeks themselves. Following that, however, the parents can opt to share the remaining leave as flexible parental leave either dividing up the time between them or deciding to take 25 weeks each but simultaneously. There are also proposals under the new law for fathers or partners to be able to take unpaid time off to attend two antenatal appointments. To qualify for all of the above, the mother must share the main responsibility for caring for the child with their partner or the child s father. They must also have notified their employer of their plans to curtail their maternity or adoption entitlements. For a parent to be eligible to take Shared Parental Leave they must be an employee and pass the continuity of employment test. This means that, 15 weeks before the baby is due, they must have worked for the same employer for no less than 26 weeks, and they must still be employed at the time when Shared Parental Leave is set to begin. 2

3 Adoption Leave and Pay 5 April 2015 New employees are now eligible to take Statutory Adoption Leave from day one of their employment, rather than only after a 26-week qualifying period as previously. Adoption pay will also be brought in line with maternity pay, which is currently 90% of a person s normal salary for the first six weeks and then the statutory rate for the remaining 33 weeks. Surrogate parents eligible for adoption leave April 2015 Previously, parents who were having a child through a surrogate mother had no right to take adoption, parental or paternity leave or to receive pay. They also did not have any rights to take time off work, paid or unpaid, to attend antenatal appointments with the woman carrying the child. With effect from April 2015, and provided that they meet the eligibility criteria, parents who have a child through surrogacy are permitted to take ordinary paternity leave and pay, adoption leave and pay and shared parental leave and pay. They are also entitled to take unpaid time off to attend two antenatal appointments with the woman carrying the child. There is no change to the law insofar as it applies to entitlement to maternity pay for women who have children through a surrogate. The right to maternity leave and pay remains with the woman carrying the child. Parental Leave extended to parents of children aged up to 18 years 5 April 2015 Previously, birth parents were entitled to take 18 weeks parental leave for each child until the child s 5th birthday. Parents who adopt a child are now allowed the same 18 weeks parental leave to be taken before the child s 18th birthday or the 5th anniversary of their adoption, whichever comes first. As of 5 April 2015, parental leave is extended to all employees who are parents of children aged up to 18 years. It is the responsibility of employers to extend this leave for employees who are not currently eligible. Statutory Maternity Pay, Ordinary Paternity Pay and Adoption Pay increase 5 April 2015 The rate of Statutory Maternity Pay, Ordinary Paternity Pay and Adoption Pay has increased to per week. 3

4 The right to request flexible working for all Historically, the right to request flexible working has been in force for more than ten years. Under the old scheme, all parents and carers of children below the age of 18 could make a request for flexible working. The Children and Families Act 2014 (CFA), which came into force on 30 June 2014, made a number of changes to the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA) governing flexible working. The changes included the following: An employee seeking to work flexibly is no longer required to be a carer for a child or adult; all employees can now apply for flexible working arrangements. The old statutory procedure for dealing with applications for flexible working has been replaced with a new framework that provides for applications to be dealt with in a reasonable manner by the employer. The employer must notify the employee of the decision on the application within the decision period, i.e. three months beginning with the date on which the application is made or such longer period agreed by the employer and the employee. This replaces the previous obligation on the employer to discuss the request with the employee within 28 days of receiving the application. The new law gives the employer the option to permit an employee to appeal against refusal, whereas previously an employee had a right to appeal the decision. An application will now be treated as having been withdrawn by the employee if (a) the employee without good reason has failed to attend the first meeting and a second meeting arranged for that purpose or (b) the employer has allowed an employee to appeal a decision but the employee has failed to attend the first meeting to discuss that appeal or a second meeting arranged for that purpose. The employer must notify the employee that the employee s conduct has been treated as a withdrawal of the application. The law no longer prescribes timeframes for dealing with an employee s request, for holding a meeting, and for notifying the employee of the decision. The employee s right to be accompanied at a meeting to discuss their flexible working request has also been removed. 4

5 Employees must still satisfy eligibility criteria before their request for flexible working will be considered, and the scheme is not available to agency workers, contractors, consultants or those who are self-employed. But the opportunity to gain additional flexibility regarding working hours, along with the time and place of work, is growing in popularity. Pitfalls associated with the flexible working scheme Although the cost and administrative impact on smaller businesses seeking to accept flexible working requests might be greater than on bigger companies, employers who manage to accommodate requests are likely to reap the business benefits of doing so in the form of increased employee loyalty, good workplace morale and higher productivity. Although the right to request flexible working has been extended to all employees, an employee s right to be accompanied to a meeting and the right to appeal have been removed. This has made it harder for employees to challenge decisions by employers to deny a request for flexible working. The biggest challenges The size of a business and the level of resources available to it will dictate how challenging, or not, many of these new rules will be for employers. Large organisations are more likely to have substantial internal HR support, which will clearly make it easier to respond immediately to the changes for example, dealing with notices of intention from employees to curtail maternity or adoption entitlements in preference for Shared Parental Leave. SMEs may find the changes rather more challenging, and seeking assistance on how to deal with the changes is likely to prove a valuable investment. Getting personal Caring about the private lives of staff actually makes good business sense. Such support breeds employee commitment and loyalty, which ultimate lead to a lower staff turnover saving significant recruitment and training costs in the end. Business can support employees in many ways, and it starts with offering flexibility and understanding when it is needed the most. Upset at home affects people s capability at work. The quicker they are to resolve their problems, the faster they will settle into new family circumstances and return fully focused during working hours. A new reality for someone who has just gone through a divorce could mean having to change their working hours to suit childcare, or 5

6 perhaps needing time out of work to attend meetings with professionals and support groups. Businesses that make an effort to meet employees where they are in life can expect loyalty and commitment in return. However, a word of caution if you are feeling moved to offer additional support to staff. Do not try to provide help and advice yourself or through the HR department. Instead, signpost to the correct agencies and support organisations, many of which are happy to provide posters and information leaflets to distribute across offices. There is no doubt that businesses overall are becoming more family friendly and we are likely to see that trend continue. Of course, legislation aimed at families, couples and single parents has gone some way to nudge managers in the right direction, but the benefits are becoming more widely appreciated and accepted. More people are working flexible hours to suit childcare arrangements, and people in personal difficulties confirm that their employers are allowing them greater flexibility to attend appointments with solicitors or court hearings. From the perspective of both a family and an employment lawyer, this is a positive development and one that is guaranteed to benefit the employment market as a whole. Linda Stewart, Partner and Head of Employment Parveen Attri, Family Law Solicitor Simpson Millar LLP Disclaimer of liability: Nothing in this article constitutes legal advice. Always consult a suitably qualified lawyer on a specific legal problem or matter. The writers, Simpson Millar LLP and TCii Strategic and assume no responsibility for information contained in this article and disclaim all liability in respect of such information. If you would like more information on any of the points covered in this Guest Article, please contact TCii on