16
Jan
2015
2015 is the year of significant legislative change particularly in the family care arena, below are some key changes which will come in to force this year.
APRIL 2015:
SHARED PARENTAL LEAVE & FAMILY FRIENDLY MEASURES:
- Parents of a child born or adopted on or after 5 April 2015 can share up to 50 weeks of leave between them in order to care for their child
- Mothers will still have to take the first two weeks of maternity leave. After which time parents can share the remaining leave and pay, replacing paternity leave
- The husband, civil partner or partner of a pregnant woman will be entitled to unpaid leave to attend up to two antenatal appointments
- The right to unpaid parental leave will be extended to the parents of any child under the age of 18 (at present parental leave is only available to those children under 5 and up to 18 years of age for a child who is disabled)
- The requirement for 26 weeks service before employees are entitled to adoptive leave will be removed
NEW STATUTORY PAY RATES:
- Statutory pay for maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave will increase to £139.56 per week
- Statutory sick pay will increase to £88.45 per week
FIT FOR WORK SCHEME
- Employees who are on sick leave who have been off or are expected to be signed off for 4 weeks are to be given an occupational health assessment with the aim of helping them to return to work
JULY 2015
HOLIDAY PAY CLAIMS
- To limit costs for businesses and increase certainty amongst employers, the Government has announced that claims brought after 1 July 2015 for non-guaranteed overtime to be included in holiday pay will not be permitted to go back further than two years
For help and advice please contact our Employment team on the number above or complete our online enquiry form.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
