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.
10.1.2. The Employment Rights Bill 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 Bill will also ensure that from day one, all employees will be eligible for bereavement leave and there is no minimum qualifying period.
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 Bill will remove the qualifying period for parental leave. Parental leave will therefore be a right available to all from day one. The Employment Rights Bill will not amend either the length or cap of how this can be taken.
10.3.1. The law currently provides protection from dismissal by reason of redundancy for a period of six months following a return to work after maternity leave.
10.3.2. The Employment Rights Bill proposes to ban all forms of dismissal during pregnancy, maternity leave or during a six month period after returning from maternity leave apart from in specific circumstances. Details will be published in the regulations which are expected no earlier than mid-2025
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 Bill will also strengthen the rights of new fathers. Under existing legislation, there is a minimum qualifying period before an employee is entitled to two weeks of paid paternity leave. An individual therefore must have been with their current employer for at least twenty-six weeks before they are permitted to take any paternity leave.
10.4.2. The Employment Rights Bill however abolishes the twenty-six week minimum period. Therefore, as will soon be the case with parental leave, employees will have a statutory right to paternity leave from the beginning of their employment.
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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