Back

Family leave provisions

Parental leave – Removal of qualifying period of employment

  • Currently

    Employees need to have been employed for one year before becoming eligible for parental leave. Parental leave is unpaid and eligible employees are entitled to 18 weeks’ leave for each child and adopted child up to their 18th birthday.

  • What will change?

    The ERB gives the Government powers to introduce regulations which will remove this length of service requirement so that employees will be entitled to parental leave from day one.

  • When will this change come into force?

    This is anticipated sometime after the ERB receives Royal Assent although a specific date has not given. Regulations required to bring this change into force.

  • Other documentation

Paternity leave – Removal of qualifying period of employment

  • Currently

    Employees with 26 weeks’ continuous service are entitled to two weeks’ paid paternity leave at any time within the first year of the baby being born.

  • What will change?

    The ERB will remove the qualifying period so employees will be entitled to paid paternity leave from day one of their employment.

  • When will this change come into force?

    This is anticipated sometime after the ERB receives Royal Assent although a specific date has not given. Regulations will be required to bring this change into force.

  • Other documentation

Paternity leave following shared parental leave

  • Currently

    Fathers are restricted from taking paid paternity leave following a period of shared parentally leave and pay.

  • What will change?

    The ERB will remove this restriction.

  • When will this change come into force?

    This is anticipated sometime after the ERB receives Royal Assent although a specific date has not given. Regulations will be required to bring this change into force.

  • Other documentation

Dismissal during pregnancy and other periods of statutory family leave

  • Currently

    An employee during a protected period of pregnancy (starts with the date they informed their employer of their pregnancy and ends 18 months after the birth) enjoys certain protections in a redundancy situation.

  • What will change?

    The ERB seeks to extend those protections by introducing regulations whereby the protections extend to any dismissal of an employee during this protected period. It further provides that the protection will also apply to other forms of family leave such as adoption leave, shared parental leave, neonatal care leave and bereaved partners’ paternity leave.

  • When will this change come into force?

    This is anticipated sometime after the ERB receives Royal Assent although a specific date has not given. Regulations will be required to bring this change into force.

Bereavement leave

  • Currently

    There is no statutory right for employees to take bereavement leave following the death of a family member. The only exception is for parents who lose a child under the age of 18 years.

  • What will change?

    New bereavement leave will be available for any employee suffering a family bereavement and it is expected to be a minimum of one week. Regulations will set out who will be entitled to the period of leave, how that will be taken and that it must be taken within at least 56 days of the death. It will not be paid leave, but parental bereavement leave will continue to be paid leave.

  • When will this change come into force?

    This is anticipated sometime after the ERB receives Royal Assent although a specific date has not been given. Regulations will be required to bring this change into force and add details as to who will qualify for the bereavement leave.

  • Other documentation