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The proposals, contained in the Work and Families Bill, were announced
by Alan Johnson the Trade and Industry Secretary and are expected to
come into forced in April 2007.
Tim Thompson explained, “This will
extend maternity leave and pay from six to nine months, but we know
the Government is actually keen to extend this further to a year.
The Bill will also improve the rights of new fathers by allowing
them to take paternity leave if the mother returns to work after six
months but before the end of her maternity leave. “
“In effect, it will mean that
fathers could take three months paid paternity leave. Fathers would
be only be paid the state allowance, which is currently £106 a
week.”
The Bill illustrates the
Government’s commitment to changing employment policies in the UK to
becoming more family friendly. The proposals include carers being
able to seek flexible working like workers of young children can so
already.
Mr Thompson said, “Some employers
will greet this news with much apprehension and despair. Smaller
business in particular will feel that the Bill looks to help
employees but will merely mean they will suffer as their staff are
allowed longer time off.”
He concluded, “Extending maternity
leave by three months will have an considerable impact upon
employers. However, we will have to see if the extended paternity
leave will be widely used. Statistics show that men often earn more
and are employed in more senior positions than women. I doubt many
men would necessarily wish or be able to afford to take advantage of
this proposed legislation as a result of the personal finance
implications.”
October 2005 |
