10.1.1. Bereavement leave at present is limited to parents of a deceased child, who are entitled to take two weeks of paid leave. This also applies to a still born baby that has passed away up to 24 weeks before its expected birth date.
10.1.2. The Employment Rights Act removes the requirement that only parents are eligible for bereavement leave. The minimum period of leave will be one week, and a bereaved person will be entitled to leave in respect of each person who has died (if more than one). Where the person who has died is a child, the minimum period of leave remains at two weeks. Bereavement leave will be unpaid, except where a child under 18 has died, in which case statutory parental bereavement pay continues to be payable.
10.1.3. At present it is left rather vague as to what the relationship with the deceased person should be for an individual to qualify for this bereavement leave. Further regulations are to due be published in due course to help clarify this issue.
10.1.4. Furthermore, the Employment Rights Act will also ensure that from day one, all employees will be eligible for bereavement leave and there is no minimum qualifying period. This will happen in 2027 and further details will be disclosed in due course.
10.2.1. Under current legislation, an employee must have been in their current place of employment for a minimum of one year before they may take any unpaid parental leave. Once eligible, an employee then is entitled to 18 weeks of unpaid leave in total. Whilst this cannot be taken all at once, with parental leave capped at 4 weeks per year, parents are free to utilise their allowance of leave at any time right up until their child’s 18th birthday.
10.2.2. The Employment Rights Act removes the qualifying period for parental leave. Parental leave will therefore be a right available to all from day one, from the 6th April 2026.
10.3.1. The law currently provides protection from dismissal by reason of redundancy for a period of 18 months from the birth of a child.
10.3.2. The Employment Rights Act bans all forms of dismissal during pregnancy, maternity leave or during a six month period after returning from maternity leave apart from in specific circumstances. Further details are expected but this will not happen before 2027.
10.3.3. It is also proposed that regulations will be introduced to cover other forms of statutory family leave such as adoption leave and shared parental leave.
10.4.1. The Employment Rights Act strengthens the rights of new fathers. Under previous legislation, there was a minimum qualifying period before an employee is entitled to two weeks of paid paternity leave. An individual therefore had to have been with their employer for at least twenty-six weeks before they were permitted to take any paternity leave.
10.4.2. The Employment Rights Act however abolishes the twenty-six week minimum period. Therefore, as with parental leave, employees will have a statutory right to paternity leave from the beginning of their employment. This comes into force on 6th April 2026.
10.5. We recommend that you review your policies. Whilst no timeframes have been confirmed yet, it will be important to stay ahead of the curve to ensure that you are prepared for when this legislation comes into force.
10.6. For our HR Protect clients, we will do the hard work for you. Just ask your usual adviser and they will provide you with an up to date policy.
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