Let's Talk About Family Leave
With the covid-19 lockdowns having made the adoption process more difficult and limiting the capability of social services to identify vulnerable cases, this has resulted in the number of adoptions in England alone having fallen by one-third over the past few years. This blog post rounds up the key employment law rights and entitlements that apply to adoptive parents:
Adoption, Paternity & Shared Parental Leave
When adopting, the couple must designate one parent as the (primary) adopter for the purposes of leave and pay entitlements. The adopter has an entitlement of to up to 52 weeks' statutory adoption leave which like maternity leave is a day-one right meaning there is no longer any qualifying period of service to avail of this leave. The other adopter is entitled to take statutory paternity leave and both adopters may be eligible to opt in to the shared parental leave scheme if they meet the qualifying conditions. The (primary) adopter must inform their employer of their intention to avail of their adoption leave in order to opt in to the shared parental leave scheme. If someone is adopting without a second parent, they are entitled to statutory adoption leave. During adoption leave, an employee is entitled to all terms and conditions of employment except terms that are related to pay.
Adoption leave can begin on the date a child is placed with the adopter or within 14 days before the date on which the child is expected to be placed. In the case of adopting more than one child as part of the same adoption arrangement, the employee cannot claim multiple adoption pay entitlements.
Adoption leave and pay is available only to parents who adopt through an adoption agency. Employees who adopt a child on a "private" basis are not eligible for adoption leave or pay, or are step-parents who adopt their step-children.
Surrogacy
Adoption leave and pay rights have also been extended to parents who enter into qualifying surrogacy arrangements. To qualify, parents must be eligible for a parental order in respect of the child. Parental order means that, along with meeting other conditions, one of the parents must have provided the genetic material that was used to create the embryo.
Dependants & Parental Leave
Dependant leave is available for an employee who needs to take time off work in an emergency or unexpected situation, in order to help a dependant, which, includes an adoptive child. An adoptive parent who has served at their company for over one year may also take parental leave to look after their child up to their 18th birthday. This entitlement is to a maximum of 18 weeks unpaid leave per child. The employee may take up to four weeks per year and it must be in blocks of one week at a time.
Related Articles:
- The Buzz About Carer's Leave
- Care Home Workers & Mandatory Vaccinations: The New Regulations
Returning To The Office: Top 10 Things Employers Need to Know - Part 2
Following on from our previous blog post 'Returning To The Office: Top 10 Things Employers Need to Know - Part 1' the below are the last 5 things and employer needs to know in preparation or the return of employees to the office.
6. Cleaning & Hygiene
Consider how you will keep the office clean which will include surface cleaning and maintaining good hygiene practices. For example, this may include:
- Implementing a 'clear desk' policy
- Asking staff to wipe down their desk after use
- Asking staff to use hand sanitiser regularly
- Encouraging good hand and respiratory hygiene
7. Ventilation
Your risk assessment might identify that it is appropriate to open more windows and doors than usual, and it may also be appropriate to consider improvements to mechanical ventilation / air conditioning. The HSE provides further guidance on this.
If you are opening windows and doors ensure you take into consideration fire safety, and the potential impact on the confidentiality of sensitive conversations.
8. Guidance for those who develop COVID-19 symptoms or are identified as a close contact
You will need to ensure that staff are clear on the process should they develop COVID-19 symptoms in office or otherwise, and also if they are identified as a close contact.
9. Commuting
As part of your risk assessment, you should consider the risks posed by COVID-19 throughout all aspects of your business activity – this will include your employees' commute.
10. Other issues
Ensure you bear in mind other health and safety issues, for example fire safety and manual handling, and how you can manage these within a COVID-19 context. Depending on the measures you take, you will also need to consider whether additional protections are needed for those more vulnerable to COVID-19 due to medical conditions or pregnancy.
Related Articles:
- Returning To The Office: Top 10 Things Employers Need to Know - Part 1
The Buzz About Carer's Leave
This month the Government confirmed that it will introduce a 'day one' right to statutory carer’s leave. The new entitlement to statutory carer’s leave will:
1. be available to the employee irrespective of how long they have worked for their employer (a day one right);
2. rely on the carer’s relationship with the person being cared for – a spouse, civil partner, child, parent, a person who lives in the same household as the employee or a person who reasonably relies on the employee for care; and
3. depend on the person being cared for having a long-term care need. This would be defined as a long-term illness or injury (physical or mental), a disability as defined under the Equality Act 2010, or issues related to old age. There would be limited exemptions from the requirement for long-term care, for example in the case of terminal illness.
What can the leave be used for?
Personal support, helping with official or financial matters, or accompanying someone to medical and other appointments.
How can the leave be taken?
Either as a single block of one week, or more flexibly in individual days.
How are employee's to notify their employer?
The notice requirement will be in line with that of annual leave, the employee must give notice that is twice the length of time being requested as leave, plus one day in order to enable employers to manage and plan for absences. Employers will be able to postpone, but not deny, the leave request for carer’s leave on grounds that the employer considers that the operation of their business would be unduly disrupted. Employers will be required to give a counter-notice if postponing the request to take Carer’s Leave.
Is there protections for those undertaking carer's leave?
Those taking carer's leave will be protected from suffering a detriment for having done so, and dismissals for reasons connected with exercising the right to carer's leave will be automatically unfair.
When will carer's leave be introduced?
According to gov.uk this right will be introduced into legislation when Parliamentary time allows. In the meantime employers should start to prepare a written policy to introduce this new requirement once introduced.
Related Articles:
- Care Home Workers & Mandatory Vaccinations: The New Regulations
Returning To The Office: Top 10 Things Employers Need to Know - Part 1
With the continued relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions across the UK, employers are finally on course for returning their employees to the office in some shape or form. Although restrictions are easing employers must still ensure they are adhering to the relevant government guidance in terms of re-opening and the attendance of employees in the workplace. Returning employees to the workplace will be based on the completion of COVID-19 risk assessments. Once employers have identified risks they must implement control measures to remove or control those risks. These risks and control measures will determine an employers approach on a range of issues which we've covered examples of below.
1. Social Distancing
While it is not currently a legal requirement for employers to ensure social distancing on their premises, the government encourages this. Social distancing can be considered an appropriate control measure in light of your COVID-19 risk assessment as employers may want to think about:
- Implementing a one-way system in the office
- Limiting numbers in the office
- Staggering staff start and finish times
- Reconfiguring desks, using protective screens and a desk booking system
- Limiting the number of people in certain areas e.g. canteens, toilets, meeting rooms and lifts
2. Vaccination
Currently vaccinations are only mandatory for registered care home works. Making vaccination compulsory in your business could lead to potential difficulties, including potential discrimination issues. Businesses however may wish to have their employees disclose their vaccination status prior to returning to the office in order to consider additional health and safety measures to protect your workforce. However, it is important to note that this raises data protection issues, and whether it is justified will depend on individual circumstances.
3. Testing
In line with government guidance, employers should encourage their staff to self-test regularly for COVID-19 to ensure their safety.
4. Office Equipment
As part of your control measures, will any restrictions be applied or alternative measures put in place for office equipment such as photocopiers, fridges, microwaves, water coolers or communal cutlery / crockery?
5. Face coverings
Employers must ensure they are aware of where the legal requirement to wear face coverings still exists - In Scotland it isstill a legal requirement to wear face coverings in the workplace in certain situations whereas in England and Wales, it is not currently a legal requirement to wear face coverings in the workplace. It is important to note that although face coverings are no longer required, the government's guidance encourages mask wearing therefore you may consider it an appropriate control measure in light of your COVID-19 risk assessment.
Check back next week for 'Returning To The Office: Top 10 Things Employers Need to Know - Part 2' which will list the final 5 things employers must know in relation to returning to the office.
