More pay and leave for parents

The rules for maternity pay and leave are complex, and things may become even more complicated for employers as they become more generous for mothers and their partners.

The current rules

Currently mothers whose babies are due on or after 1 April 2007, and who satisfy minimum pay and length of service criteria, are entitled to a year off work, nine months of which is paid as Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP). The first six weeks of SMP are generally paid at 90% of their average weekly earnings. The remaining 33 weeks are normally paid at £112.75 a week.

The proposals

The government proposes to increase the payment period for SMP to a year, which will match the leave period. They also propose that, if the mother and father wish, six months of this pay and leave period may be transferred from the mother to the father as Additional Paternity Leave (APL) and pay.

Currently fathers are entitled to a maximum of two weeks Statutory Paternity Pay which for most claimants is paid at £112.75 a week.

The government has entered into a consultation process with interested parties on the introduction of APL and pay for fathers. Although the consultation period will have closed before this newsletter reaches you it is unlikely that the government will have been able to issue its response or further guidance. We will keep you informed of developments.

Part of the problem with the introduction of APL and pay is that it could potentially involve two employers, the mother’s and the father’s. The consultation focuses on the administration of the scheme and includes:

• procedures for the notification by the father and mother to the father’s employer that he intends to take APL and pay
• the proposal that notification will not have to be made to the mother’s employer. This is the government’s preferred approach recommended in the consultation as the involvement of both the mother’s and father’s employers was thought to be too administratively burdensome
• the notice period required to allow employers to plan for the employee’s absence
• the procedures to be put in place where the mother’s and father’s circumstances change and they want to amend the proposed leave dates.

The government has stated its intention to keep the APL and pay scheme as straightforward as possible for both employers and employees.

Implementation

The government’s goal is to bring in APL and pay at the same time as extending SMP from 39 weeks to 52 weeks, which they hope to achieve by the end of this parliament. This will mean that both parents could choose to take an equal amount of paid leave. The earliest proposed date that APL and pay will be implemented will be for babies due on or after 5 April 2009.