TPPShared Parental leave

(AKA ‘4 dimensional chess’)

June 2014

Wendy Blake Ranken, HR Consultant

wendy@blakeranken.clara.co.uk

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Overview of parental leave provisions

Discussion – what are we doing about it/what will we do? What will the key issues be for us?

Discussion – what topics would we like to discuss at future meetings? How will we work together?

Suggested agenda

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Comes in under Children and Families Act 2014

Applies to those with babies due/adopting children on or after 5 April 2015

Currently, the Regulations to implement the Shared Parental Leave provisions are draft – may change (final version expected Oct 2014)

New law comes into effect from October - so need policies in place from then

The parental leave provisions

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Right to two unpaid periods of leave for fathers to attend ante-natal appointments – from October 2014

Maximum time off 6.5 hours

Protection from detriment in respect of SPL – also in effect from 1 October 2014

Changes that are happening pretty soon ....

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STAYS 2 weeks’ compulsory maternity leave, 52 weeks in

full 52 weeks adoption leave (from day 1 of employment) 39 weeks statutory maternity/adoption pay (NB

adoption pay will be 9/10 earnings for first 6 weeks) 2 weeks statutory paternity pay 18 weeks parental leave

GOES Additional paternity leave and pay

What’s staying, what’s going?

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A period of leave to care for a child, which parents can share

Mother must ‘curtail’ maternity leave first – it ‘replaces’ maternity leave

Up to 52 weeks – minus any mat leave taken

Shared parental pay – up to 37 weeks Applies in same way to spouses, adopters,

civil partners, partners of mothers Must be employees

Shared parental leave – what is it?

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Mother takes 10 weeks of leave, then curtails rest of leave

42 weeks left to share between mother and father, to take:◦ At the same time◦ Consecutively◦ With gaps

For a minimum of 1 week at a time

Example

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No

Need to have 26 weeks’ service at 15th week before EWC

Need to be an employee So sometimes, one parent may be eligible

and the other not!

Can all parents take SPL?

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Mother must serve a maternity leave curtailment notice

Mother and father must serve two notices at least 8 weeks before their own first period of SPL:

Notice of entitlement and intention to take leave

Period of leave notice

Notification requirements

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Relatively straightforward – simply notifies of end date of maternity leave

Must be: After the 2 weeks’ compulsory mat leave At least 1 weeks before the end of SML Must give the notice at least 8 weeks prior to the

intended date of curtailment Binding after 8 weeks, so limited right to

withdraw or revoke

At same time, she also serves a ‘Notification of Entitlement and Intention to take Leave’

Maternity leave curtailment notice

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Mother and father both submit this to their respective workplaces, PLUS a declaration about their partner’s ‘Notification of Entitlement and Intention to take leave’

The notification includes a non-binding indication of when the parent intends to take leave

‘Notification of entitlement and intention to take leave’

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The names of the mother and father Start and end dates of any SML taken or to

be taken by the mother Total amount of SPL available The EWC and the actual date of birth How much SPL each parent intends to take Non-binding indication of when parent

intends to take the SPL Declarations from employee and other parent

about satisfying qualification criteria and that will inform employer if situation changes

What must a ‘Notice of Entitlement and Intention to take Leave’ contain?

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You can ask for the child’s birth certificate

You can ask for the name and address of the other employer

You don’t HAVE to do either of these

How do I check the notifications?

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In writing

Min 8 weeks before the start of the SLP period

Can be about one or more periods of SPL

The employee can submit a max of 2 variation notices (still with at least 8 weeks’ notice)

Period of leave notice

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Same eligibility as for SPL Notice at least 8 weeks before beginning of first

week, to include: Number of weeks SPP that each mother and

father intend to take The weeks in which mother or father tend to

claim SPP A declaration that information correct and that

will notify employer if situation changes Other parent also needs to make a declaration,

including that consents to first parent’s intended claim for SPP

Notices relating to shared parental pay

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Duration of employment test

Employment and earnings test

Two tests

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The parent wanting to take leave must:

Have 26 weeks’ service at the 15th week before the EWC; and

Still be with the employer until the week before a period of SPL starts.

The duration of employment test

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Applies to the spouse etc of the person applying for SPL

Must be employed or self-employed for at least 26 of the 66 weeks immediately preceding the EWC; and

Have average weekly earnings of at least £30 in the tax year before the tax year containing the EWC

The employment and earnings test

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THE MOTHER Must satisfy duration of employment test Main responsibility (alongside father) for care of

child Entitled to statutory mat leave Has curtailed mat leave or returned to work Has served appropriate notice (entitlement and

intention to take leave notice; period of leave notice)

AND THE FATHER satisfies employment and earnings test Main responsibility (alongside mother) for care of

child

Tests – whether the mother is entitled to SPL

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THE FATHER Must satisfy duration of employment test Main responsibility (alongside mother) for care of

child Has served appropriate notice (entitlement and

intention to take leave notice; period of leave notice) AND THE MOTHER Must satisfy employment and earnings test Main responsibility (alongside father) for care of child Is entitled to SML, SMP or SMA in respect of the child Has curtailed SML or returned to work; or curtailed

SMP or SMA

Tests – whether the father is entitled to SPL

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No if continuous

Yes if discontinuous – in which case can either agree, propose alternative dates, or refuse – no obligation to state reasons

But instead – employee could submit 2 variation notices!

Can the employer refuse the leave?

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Mirrors maternity pay:

6 weeks at 9/10 earnings

33 weeks at lower rate of SPP

If both parents take off 1st 6 weeks, only one gets higher rate pay

How much is pay for SPL?

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Same as maternity leave – benefits continue apart from pay

Right to return – front of queue for suitable alternative employment if redundancy

Same job if SPL is 26 weeks’ or less; same or similar job if >26 weeks

Benefits and returning

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Up to 20 for each employee

In addition to the 10 KIT days on maternity leave

No obligation on either side

KIT-type days

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How do I know that both parents are not claiming leave and pay at the same time?

How do I get cover for a short period of time? What do I do with discontinuous periods of leave?

What will the Government do to help us administer such a complex system?

Will my employees actually take this up? What if I enhance maternity leave? Do I need to do the

same with SPL? Can the father be entitled to SPL even if a mother is not

entitled to SML (eg coz doesn't satisfy eligibility requirements)

If the mother is self-employed, can the father take SPL?

Challenges and questions