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
• childcare vouchers
• retirement. 

Ante-natal care, maternity leave and pay

Antenatal care

All women working full or part time are entitled to reasonable paid time off to attend ante-natal care. 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 worked for your employer for 26 weeks by the 15th week before your baby is due.

• you must tell your employer that you intend to do so by the 15th week before your baby is due
• you must tell employer when your baby is due and when you want your leave to start - you can change your mind about when you want the leave to start, but you must give at least 28 days notice
• your employer must reply in writing within 28 days - including the date you are expected to return to work if you take your full entitlement.

The earliest date you can start maternity leave is the 11th week before your baby is due. However, it 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 with your workplace while you are off can help you keep up to date with what's going on and make it easier when you go back. If you and your employer agree, you can do up to ten Keeping In Touch Days, which you can use for training or attending events while you are on maternity leave.

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 then 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) is a weekly payment your employer makes for up to 39 weeks. To qualify for SMP you must:

• have worked for your employer for 26 continuous weeks by the 15th week before the week your baby is due
• earn at least £95 a week (before tax)
• give your employer 28 days notice of the date you want SMP 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 2009, you get up to £123.06 a week for the remaining 33 weeks.

Maternity Allowance (MA) is a weekly benefit you may get through 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 period of 66 weeks up to the week before your baby is due

·         have earned an average of £30 a week over any 13 weeks in those 66 weeks. 

The standard rate of MA, from April 2009, is £123.06 a week or 90% of your weekly earnings, which ever is lower.

A new Alliance Against Pregnancy Discrimination was estabished in May 2009. Details on http://www.maternityaction.org.uk/

 
Paternity leave and pay

Fathers do not have the right to time off to accompany their partners to ante-natal care visits, but many employers do permit time off (paid or unpaid) to let them do so.

When your wife, partner or civil partner gives birth you are entitled to 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 15th week before the baby is due and 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 (Form SC3, on the website http://www.direct.gov.uk/ )
• notify your employer, at least by the 15th week before the baby is due
• tell your employer how much time you wish to take and when you want it to start - you must 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 it must be 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 (see above).
• If your weekly earnings are £95 or more, SPP from April 2009 is £123.06 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.  

Statutory adoption leave and pay

To qualify for statutory 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 and 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 is 14 days before the child is placed with you.

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) 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 and earn £95 a week or more.
• Your employer will pay your SAP in the same way as your wages are normally paid. The standard rate from April 2009 is £123.06 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, there in certain circumstances there is now a statutory right to apply for flexible working - not the right to have it. If you are eligible, (see below) 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 16 or of a disabled child under 18 (or be the partner of the parent, adopter, foster parent or guardian), be responsible for the child's upbringing and need the time to care for the child
• be the carer of a spouse, partner, civil partner, relative, or someone else 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 and not be an agency worker or 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 at work or to work from home. 

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

• a new working pattern will usually be a permanent change
• if you are going for shorter hours, you will get less pay
• how any changes might affect your workmates or problems it could cause
• when you want the new working pattern to start - the process can take up to 14 weeks
• how your company likes applications to be made
• how to show in your application that you have thought 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 that meeting. You can take a workmate with you to the meeting. You have the right to appeal against your employer’s decision within 14 days of receiving it.

Parental leave

As a parent, you have the right to unpaid leave to look after a child or make arrangements for the child's welfare. 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 (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 (Compassionate Leave)

You have the right to take leave to deal with an emergency involving someone depending on you. This could be your spouse 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 employer - he/she 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, in an accident or assaulted and needs you to help
• needs you to arrange longer term care or 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 at least one child.

• 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 (16-18 if in education; 16-17 under certain circumstances). It 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 are employed or 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 and 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. Request an application pack from HM Revenue and Customs helpline: 0845 300 3900, Textphone 0845 300 3909.

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

Childcare vouchers

The government operates a series of salary sacrifice schemes which allow employees to receive part of their pay in the form of vouchers which can be used to pay for 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 - considers benefits and disadvantages for families taking vouchers as part of a salary

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/specialist/salary_sacrifice.htm - HM Customs and Revenue which oversees the salary sacrifice scheme. 

Retirement

We should prepare for retirement early. Through National Insurance (NI) contributions and credits you are entitled to the State Pension, but current advice suggests you should also contribute to a personal pension.

There is no official State retirement age in the UK, but 65 is the age at which men can start claiming their State Pension. 60 is the current State Pension age for women, but that will gradually increase to 65 between 2010 and 2020. Between 2024 and 2046 it is proposed that the age at which the State Pension is paid should rise from 65 to 68.

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: which you can buy through banks, building societies and life insurance companies who invest your savings  
• stakeholder pensions: flexible, low charge personal pensions that must meet strict Government standards - you don't have to be working to contribute to one of these
• 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: