Millions of workers who were previously denied time off for the birth of their child will become eligible for new day one rights to parental leave from April, through measures being laid in Parliament.
The changes, which stem from the recently passed Employment Rights Act, will see parents no longer be forced to make the heart-wrenching choice between being there for the first weeks of their child’s life or going back to work to avoid losing their job, News Cover reports, citing the UK government.
An additional 32,000 more dads per year will be able to access Paternity Leave immediately, as a mother would with maternity leave.
This comes as the Government continues its Parental Leave and Pay Review, which will assess the whole system – from maternity and paternity leave to shared parental leave – to see how it can work better for parents and employers, News Cover reports, citing the UK government.
Around 390,000 people are estimated to be out of work due to caring responsibilities but want a job, including parents. The reforms to parental leave include the right to take Unpaid Parental Leave from the first day in a new job, giving a further 1.5 million parents more flexibility to share caring responsibilities. If even 1% of those out of work were able to take up a part-time job as a result of this move, it could boost economic output by around £150m a year.
