Legal Update: In a Nutshell - New entitlement for shared parental leave
Coram Children's Legal Centre
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Provisions included in the Children and Families Act 2014 will give parents new rights to "shared parental leave" from December.
What is shared parental leave?
Shared parental leave is a new legal entitlement for parents (by birth or adoption) who meet certain eligibility requirements and is designed to provide parents with the opportunity to share parental leave to work out the best arrangement for the care of the child in their first year of life.
The new entitlements are contained in the Children and Families Act 2014, which amends Part 8 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, and in regulations that came into force on 1 December: the Shared Parental Leave Regulations 2014.
Under these new legal provisions, mothers will still take the initial two weeks of leave after a baby is born, but after this time, parents will be able to share the remaining leave in the baby's first year. The amount of leave available will be in accordance with the mother's entitlement to maternity/adoption leave, which is 52 weeks' leave (39 of which attract statutory maternity pay). Shared parental leave allows the mother to reduce this period of leave and allows her partner to take any remaining leave as shared parental leave.
In short, shared parental leave will operate like a "pot" of leave from which both parents can take time off. The partner could begin taking shared parental leave while the mother is still on maternity/adoption leave, or it could be used consecutively.
The new entitlements will allow parents to stop and start their shared parental leave and return to work between periods of leave and each parent may submit three notices booking periods of leave (although employers may allow more).
The regulations give parents the right to take shared parental leave and place a duty on employers to ensure that their employees are not penalised for using shared parental leave or put under pressure to change their leave.
Who is eligible for shared parental leave?
The new provisions will apply to parents of children whose expected week of childbirth begins on or after 5 April 2015 or who are placed for adoption on or after 5 April 2015.
To qualify for shared parental leave, the person claiming must be eligible for maternity pay or leave, and share childcare responsibilities with their husband, wife, civil partner, partner (if living with the claimant and the child) or the child's other parent.
The person claiming shared parental leave must also have been continuously employed for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the baby's due date (or date matched with the adopted child), and be employed by the same employer while the shared parental leave is taken. The person that the claimant will share care of their child with will be eligible for shared parental leave if they have worked at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks leading up to the due date and if they have earned above the maternity allowance threshold, which is £30 a week in 13 of the 66 weeks.
Legal Update is produced in association with experts at Coram Children’s Legal Centre ?www.childrenslegalcentre.com
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