The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023, and the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 have recently received Royal Assent. All details outlining the new rights for working parents will be contained in separate regulations, which are to be implemented in due course. However, it’s important that employers start preparing for these changes and considering how it would affect internal policies and procedures.
The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023 allows the extension of existing redundancy protections whilst on Maternity Leave, Adoption Leave or Shared Parental Leave to also cover pregnancy and a period of time (expected to be six months) after a new parent has returned to work.
This Act is due to come into force on 24th July 2023, however the new entitlements for workers won’t apply until the Secretary of State creates new regulations outlining how the entitlements would work. The timing of this is still currently unknown.
The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 is expected to come into force in April 2025, although charities and trade unions are calling for implementation to happen sooner.
Currently, employers have a legal obligation to offer suitable employment where a vacancy exists, to a parent who is on Maternity, Adoption or Shared Parental Leave if their job is at risk of redundancy. This is limited to the duration of the relevant leave.
Aside from those already protected (on parental leave), the new Act will extend protection to:
Employers can start to think through the implications of the new protections and possible issues that may arise when running any redundancy exercise. New and expectant parents will be able to significantly extend their period of redundancy protection.
There may be individual instances where the new rules would feel unfair to managers and other employees, such as where it results in the loss of a particularly high-performing employee in favour of an employee with this priority status. This would need to be managed carefully among staff.
The new Act will allow eligible employed parents whose new-born baby is admitted to neonatal care to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave from day one of neonatal care, in addition to other leave entitlements such as Maternity and Paternity Leave. Currently, parents of a baby in neonatal care must rely on their existing statutory leave entitlements to enable them to be off work whilst their baby is in hospital.
To be eligible for paid neonatal leave, employees will be required to have worked at the same employer for at least 26 weeks, and unpaid leave is likely to be offered from the first day of employment. Regarding which care givers should be entitled to neonatal leave and pay, the government is expected to define a ‘neonatal parent’ within the new regulations.
The length of leave and statutory neonatal pay will be based on how long the baby receives neonatal care and will apply if the baby receives neonatal care in a health setting for more than seven continuous days before they reach 28 days old – regardless of whether they were born premature or full-term but sick.
Employers can start to think about developing policies which are compassionate, flexible and tailored to employees’ needs, as many employees have different parenthood experiences. For example, you may want to mirror your existing maternity pay provisions when it comes to paying employees neonatal pay.
Being entitled to employment rights such as these would depend on the worker’s employment status. Many employment rights are only available to those who are classified as employees and not to temporary workers that are often supplied via recruitment agencies like Blue Arrow. For example, workers need to be classified as an employee to have the right to take Maternity Leave and return to the same job.
However, there are cases where there could be an ‘implied’ contract of employment between an agency worker and an employer, where for example, the agency provides the worker with tools needed to do the job and they’re restricted from working for other employers.
Also, after 12 continuous weeks in an assignment, agency workers are entitled to receive the same basic working and employment conditions as the hirer’s employees. To qualify for many maternity rights, the agency worker would need to have worked for the same employer for 26 weeks.
The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act has come about to protect new and expectant parents from discrimination and avoids them having to compete for redeployment opportunities at a vulnerable time in their lives. Whereas the Neonatal Care Act comes as a result of many parents needing time and resources to deal with the trauma of neonatal care, without the worry of additional financial pressures and returning to work too soon.
We will continue to monitor developments on these two Acts and keep our clients informed regarding any new regulations and enforcement dates that become available. In the meantime, you can browse our other insights for other latest industry news.
