The Government has announced that it will shortly be consulting on new rights for working parents. At present, employed mothers are entitled to 52 weeks of maternity leave (39 weeks of which are paid). Employed fathers are entitled to two weeks' paternity leave.
Under the new proposal:
If a mother returns to work before using up all 52 weeks of maternity leave, the unused maternity leave can be transferred to the father. The transferred leave will be known as 'Additional Paternity Leave'.
Only the second six months of the maternity leave period may be transferred.
If the mother has not used up all of the 39 weeks' paid maternity leave then some of the father's transferred Additional Paternity Leave would be paid at the same statutory rate (currently £123.06 per week).
Parents will be required to 'self certify' their entitlement to Additional Paternity Leave. Employers will be able to carry out further checks if necessary.
The Government estimates that take up will be low and that the burden on employers will be minimal.
The consultation is expected to be launched soon, with the intention that the proposal will have effect for parents of babies due on or after 3 April 2011.
If the scheme becomes law, employers that currently offer enhanced contractual maternity pay or 'return to work' bonuses to mothers will need to review those policies to ensure they do not discriminate unlawfully against fathers.
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