Parental Leave
At present, employees have no statutory rights to be with or care for young children, other than a woman's statutory maternity leave. Also adoptive parents and fathers have no entitlement at all unless their employer concedes time off.
Under the new rules which will apply only to children born after 15 December 1999, parents (mothers, fathers and adoptive parents) will be able to take up to 13 weeks off over the first five years of the child's life to care for each child. The Government has laid down key requirements that must be met by employers, which are:
- Employees qualify for the leave after a years continuous service.
- Employees must notify the employer at least 4 weeks in advance of taking the leave (double the amount of leave if more than 2 weeks to be taken at once).
- A special provision will allow fathers to arrange time off straight after birth or adoption provided at least 3 months notice is given of the due week of birth.
Whilst at least a million people could benefit from this new statutory right it must be stressed that the time off allowed is unpaid and it must become a priority for trade union reps to negotiate improvements to the statutory rights. As it stands, very few individuals will be able to take advantage of these unpaid provisions. Unions need to be involved in the formulation of company agreements on this issue, before the legislation comes into force, as it could mean significant improvements in existing terms and conditions for members if handled correctly. Members also need to be aware that the employer is entitled, under the new legislation, to postpone leave where the needs of the business dictate, but they cannot postpone it for more than six months. Time Off for Domestic Emergencies
According to the European Directive on parental leave all member states have to offer a legal right for employees to take time off for family emergencies. The new Act proposes an entitlement to "a reasonable amount of time off' during working hours. There is, of course, no provision for payment for this time off. This could be a good negotiating opportunity for unions locally to bargain for paid leave. The types of circumstances that are covered include:
- if a dependent falls ill, is injured or assaulted or gives birth
- the consequences of the death of a dependent
- if a child is involved in a serious incident at school or during school hours
- childcare or other caring arrangements break down.
The regulations could also cover household emergencies such as flooding or other such emergency conditions. It is envisaged that the regulations will specify the circumstances in which time off may be taken and what amount would be reasonable. They will also include what evidence an employee would need to produce to verify taking the time off. Employees who are denied these rights and any other of the new statutory rights in this briefing will be entitled to take their claim to an Employment Tribunal, within three months and could be awarded compensation to reflect the employers default and any loss sustained by the employee. All union reps need to be awarethat all the provisions mentionedin this briefing are not going tocome into force until the end of1999. Prior to that there isconsultation taking place on theimplementation of the newlegislation and reps need to keepup to date on any newdevelopments. Some of the new rights described in this Briefing could be subject to change.
Reps should try and ensure thatthese new statutory rights and anyimprovements negotiated aretranslated into company policiesprior to the implementation inDecember. | 
