HR expert guide: Maternity and paternity rules

Legislative changes due in April 2011 will alter the requirements for employers to help employees cope with their parental responsibilities. Carol Smith presents an overview to prepare you and your team for additions to their families from next year.

The main change in maternity and paternity rules from April 2011 will allow mothers to transfer part of their maternity leave to their partner. The change is designed give fathers more involvement in their child’s upbringing and mothers more options to get back into work.

The government’s intention was not to increase the administrative burden for employers, but as with any change managers will need to be aware of the new rules and how to implement them. This guide looks at current paternity and maternity legislation and how the new approach to paternity leave will operate.

What happens now
The current law on paternity leave has been in place for just over six years, and will remain the same: employees will still be entitled to take up to two weeks’ paternity leave as long as they have responsibility for the child’s upbringing, are the biological father and/or the mother’s husband or partner.

This article first appeared on our sister site, HRZone.co.uk. Carol Smith is a senior consultant at Croner, a Wolters Kluwer business and the UK’s leading provider of workplace information, software and services. For further information visit www.croner.co.uk.

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