PlanIT Plus - Career Zone

Family friendly employment law

This article outlines the legal framework for supporting working families and summarizes the following:

maternity leave and pay
paternity leave and pay
adoption leave and pay
the right to apply for flexible working
parental leave
the right to time off for a family emergency
tax credits
the child trust fund
childcare vouchers
retirement.

Time off for ante-natal care and maternity leave

Antenatal care

All women working either full or part time are entitled to paid time off to attend ante-natal care recommended by a doctor, midwife or health visitor. This includes medical examinations, relaxation classes and parent craft classes.

Maternity leave

You have the following leave rights:

39 weeks ordinary maternity leave (normally paid) regardless of how long you have worked for your employer
additional maternity leave of a further 13 weeks (usually unpaid) provided you have completed 26 weeks continuous service with your employer by the fifeenth week before your baby is due.

Letting your employer know you want to take maternity leave

When you are pregnant:

you must tell your employer that you intend to take maternity leave by the fifteenth week before your baby is due
you must tell employer when your baby is due and when you want your maternity leave to start
you can change your mind about when you want the leave to start, but you must tell your employer at least 28 days in advance
your employer must reply in writing within 28 days
the letter should also contain the date your employer expects you to return to work if you take your full entitlement.

The earliest date you can start your maternity leave is the eleventh week before your baby is due. However, your maternity leave will start automatically if you are absent from work for a pregnancy related illness during the four weeks before your baby's expected birth date.

Keeping in touch during your maternity leave

Keeping in touch with work with your workplace can help to keep you up to date with what's going on and make it easier when it's time to go back. If you and your employer both agree you can have up to ten Keeping In Touch Days which you can use for training or attending events.

Returning to work after maternity leave

You are expected to return to work after your full (52 week) maternity leave period.
If you intend to return before the end of your maternity leave you must give eight weeks notice of the date you want to return.
You are normally entitled to return to the same job and the same terms and conditions.
If you are unable to return to work through illness or wish to resign you should notify your employer in the usual way.
If you wish to return to work part time or flexible hours, you should ask your employer. There is no automatic right to part time work or flexible hours.

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) and Maternity Allowance (MA)

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is a weekly payment your employer makes for up to 39 weeks.

To qualify for SMP you must:

have completed 26 weeks continuous service with your employer by the fifteenth week before the week your baby is due
earn at least £90 a week.

To receive SMP you must give your employer 28 days notice of the date you want it to start (usually the date you start your maternity leave).

For the first six weeks you should receive 90% of your average weekly earnings. After that, from April 2008, the standard rate is £117.18 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings, whichever is the lower.

Maternity Allowance (MA) is a weekly benefit you may be able to get from your Jobcentre Plus or Benefits office, for up to 39 weeks, if you are not eligible for SMP.

To qualify for MA you must:

· be employed or self employed for at least 26 weeks in a test period of 66 weeks up to the week before your baby is due

· have earned at least £30 a week in any 13 weeks in the test period.

The standard rate of MA, from April 2008, is £117.18 a week or 90% of your annual weekly earnings, which ever is lower.

Paternity leave and pay

Paternity leave

When your wife, partner or civil partner gives birth you qualify for one or two consecutive weeks of paternity leave to support the mother and care for your baby if you:

are the biological father of the child or the mother's husband or partner and have, or share, responsibility for the child's upbringing
have worked for your employer for 26 weeks leading to the fifteenth week before the EWC
continue to work for the same employer up to the date of birth.

To take paternity leave you must:

fill in a self certificate to confirm you are entitled to the leave
notify your employer, at the latest, during the fifteenth week before the baby is due
tell your employer the amount of time you wish to take and when you want it to start
give your employer 28 days notice if you want to change your mind about the start date or amount of time.

You must take paternity leave within 56 days of the baby’s birth. You can take one or two weeks, but must take the time in a single block.

Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP)

Your employer will pay your SPP in the same way as your wages are normally paid. You will need a self certificate as above.
The standard rate from April 2008 is £117.18 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings if this is less.
If you do not qualify for SPP, contact your local Jobcentre Plus office to check other benefits you can claim.

Adoption leave and pay

Adoption Leave

To qualify for adoption leave you must either be:

adopting on your own
one of a couple jointly adopting.

If you are adopting jointly you can choose who takes the adoption leave and your partner may be able to claim paternity leave and pay.

You must tell your employer you want to take adoption leave within seven days of being matched with a child by your adoption agency. You must provide written evidence. You must tell your employer:

when you expect the child to be placed with you
the date you expect to start your adoption leave.

The earliest you can start your adoption leave and pay is 14 days before the child is placed with you.

If you change your mind about when you want the leave to start you must tell your employer at least 28 days in advance.

If you have worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks you will qualify for:

39 weeks' ordinary adoption leave (normally paid)
additional adoption leave, starting immediately after ordinary adoption leave, for a further 13 weeks (usually unpaid).

Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP)

Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) is a weekly payment you can get for 39 weeks while you are on adoption leave. If you do not qualify for SAP you may be able to get other benefits. Talk to your adoption agency or contact your local Jobcentre Plus office.

To qualify for SAP you must have worked for your employer for at least 26 weeks.
Your employer will pay your SAP in the same way as your wages are normally paid. The standard rate from April 2008 is £117.18 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings if this is less.

Paternity leave and pay (adoption)

See the section on paternity leave and pay above.

Flexible working - the right to apply

Anyone can ask their employer for flexible work arrangements, but the government has now introduced a statutory right to apply for flexible working.

Note that you have the right to apply for - not the right to have - flexible working arrangements.

If you do have the statutory right to apply (see below) you still do not have an automatic right to flexible working, but your employer must consider your request seriously and give you clear business reasons for refusing it.

To have the statutory right to apply, you must:

be the parent, adopter, foster parent or guardian of a child under six or of a disabled child under eighteen (or be the partner of the parent, adopter, foster parent or guardian)
be responsible for the child's upbringing
be making the application to enable you to care for the child
be the carer of a spouse, partner, civil partner or relative; or someone who lives at the same address as you do
have worked with your employer continuously for 26 weeks
not have made another application to work flexibly during the previous 12 months
not be an agency worker
not be a member of the armed forces.

You can request:

a change to the number of hours you work
a change to the times you are required to work
to work from home.

It is up to you to prepare your case in advance.

Remember:

a new working pattern will usually be a permanent change
if you are going for shorter hours, that means less pay too
think through any possible problems and how any changes might affect your workmates
think carefully about the date you want the new working pattern to start because the process can take up to 14 weeks
find out how your company likes applications to be made
show in your application that you have thought carefully about the demands of your job and how any change would affect your performance.

You should apply in writing. Your employer must arrange a meeting with you within 28 days of receiving your request and give you a written decision within 14 days of your meeting. You can take a workmate with you to the meeting and you have the right to appeal against your employer’s decision within 14 days of receiving it.

Parental leave

You have the right to unpaid leave to look after a child or make arrangements for the child's welfare. This right applies to both mothers and fathers. You must normally have completed one year’s continuous service with your current employer.

There are some rules which apply in every case:

you can have 13 weeks in total for each child under 5
you can have 18 weeks in total for each child entitled to a disability living allowance, up to the child's 18th birthday
you remain employed while on parental leave and normally have the right to return to the same job
you can take the time in long or short blocks depending on the arrangements you agree with your employer.

Right to time off for a family emergency

The law says that you have the right to take leave to deal with an emergency involving someone depending on you. This could be your husband, wife or partner, a child, parent, someone living with you as part of the family or someone who relies solely on you for help.

Whether this leave is paid or unpaid depends on your employment contract. Your employer has no legal obligation to pay you.
You can take only as long you need to deal with the immediate emergency.
You must tell your employer as soon as possible why you are not at work and how long you expect to be off.
If you go back to work before you get the chance to contact your employer, you must still explain why you were off.

An emergency could be when a dependant:

is ill and needs you to help
is in an accident or assaulted
needs you to arrange longer term care
needs you to help with a breakdown in care such as a nurse not turning up
goes into labour.

You can also take time off to deal with funeral arrangements or attend a funeral when a dependant dies.

Tax Credits

Tax credits are payments from the government to help to support families with children and working people with low incomes.

Child Tax Credit (CTC)

Child Tax Credit (CTC) is paid in addition to Child Benefit. It is a means tested credit for low and middle income families with children.

The government estimates that 9 out of 10 families with children will qualify.
The amount you get depends on your income and responsibilities.
You do not have to be working to claim CTC.

You can claim CTC if you are responsible for a child or children under 16 (or 16 to 18 if in relevant education; or 16 to 17 under certain circumstances).

CTC is paid weekly or four weekly, direct into the bank account of the main carer for the children in a family.

Working Tax Credit (WTC)

Working Tax Credit (WTC) is a means-tested credit which tops up the earnings of working people on low incomes whether they have an employer or are self employed.

You do not have to have children to claim WTC.
The amount you receive depends on your income.
You may claim extra for someone in your household with a disability
You can claim extra towards the costs of registered or approved childcare.

You must work a minimum number of hours a week to be able to claim WTC.

For both CTC and WTC, you must claim by post. You can request an application pack from HM Revenue and Customs helpline: 0845 300 3900.

To check whether you qualify for either of the above tax credits have a look at the following websites:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/index.htm
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/leaflets/wtc1.pdf

The Child Trust Fund (CTF)

The government provides a savings and investment account for all children born on or after 1 September 2002 and living in the UK, as long as the person with parental responsibility is claiming child benefit.

The significant features of this scheme are:

for each eligible child, if you are the child benefit claimant, you will receive a voucher for £250 to start a child trust fund (CTF) account
a child in a household receiving child tax credit and with (for 2008-2009) an annual income below £15,575, will receive an extra £250
the government will make a further contribution of £250 (£500 if you are on a low income) when your child is seven
if your child is eligible you will automatically receive a voucher
there is a list of more than 70 places you can open the account with
you, your family and friends can add money to the account up to a maximum of £1,200 a year
the account is locked till your child reaches the age of eighteen
neither you nor your child will pay any income or capital gains tax on the account
the CTF will not be taken into account for any other claims for benefits or tax credits for the family.

More information (including details of providers and distributors of CTFs) is available on the CTF website:
http://www.childtrustfund.gov.uk/

Childcare vouchers

The government operates a series of salary sacrifice schemes which allow employees to receive part of their pay in the form of non cash benefits such as computers, bicycles, mobile phones and child care.

The Employer Supported Childcare Voucher scheme has the following features:

· you can choose to receive up to £55 of your pay per week in the form of childcare support

· you will not pay tax or national insurance on that part of your income

· you must use registered or approved childcare.

Further details are available from:

http://www.worksmart.org.uk/money/childcare_vouchers - a TUC website - this section considers the possible benefits and disadvantages for families who opt for vouchers as part of their salary

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ - the website of HM Customs and Revenue which oversees the salary sacrifice scheme.

Retirement

We are increasingly warned of the need to start preparing for retirement as early as possible. Through National Insurance (NI) contributions and credits you are entitled to the State Pension, but current advice suggests that you should also contribute to a personal pension scheme.

Though there is no official State retirement age in the UK, 65 is the legally stated age at which men can start claiming their State Pension. 60 is the current State Pension age for women, though that will gradually increase between 2010 and 2020 to become 65.

Between 2024 and 2046 it is proposed that the age at which the State Pension is paid should rise from 65 to 68.

State pension comprises:

· basic state pension

· additional state pension (also called the Second State Pension).

The amount you are entitled to depends on the number of years you have paid NI contributions, and the type of contribution you have paid. You can get a forecast from the Pensions Service (see below) of how much you are likely to receive.

Private or personal pension schemes allow you to make direct payments to an organisation which invests them on your behalf.

There are various types of scheme:

personal pensions: private pensions you can buy through banks, building societies and life insurance companies who invest your savings
stakeholder pensions: a flexible, low charge personal pension scheme that must meet strict Government standards - you don't have to be working to contribute to these schemes
occupational pensions: company, works or superannuation schemes run by the company or organisation you work for

Further details are available from:

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/ (The Department for Work and Pensions)

http://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/

http://www.directgov.gov.uk/en/Over50s/index.htm

Useful General Addresses and Websites:

Enquiry Unit

Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR)

1 Victoria Street

London

SW1H 0ET

Tel: 020 7215 5000

Email: enquiries@berr.gov.uk