Employment Protections for Parents and Carers

Posted on June 12, 2023

Employers need to be aware of three Acts which received Royal Assent and are due to become law. The new employment law acts will give new protections to parents and carers, including leave entitlement and redundancy rules.

Partner and Employment Law Solicitor, Susan Mayall at Pearson Solicitors, looks at how they will impact businesses and employers.

Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act

The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act allows the extension of existing redundancy protections whilst on Maternity Leave, Adoption Leave or Shared Parental Leave to also cover pregnancy and a period of time after a new parent has returned to work.

“What this will mean to employers is that after an employee returns from maternity, adoption or shared parental leave, the proposed legislation may protect the employee from being treated the same as any other employee when applying a selection criteria matrix to them in a redundancy situation,” said Susan Mayall.

“We will of course need to wait to see what the secondary legislation actually says to know the extent and length of time of the additional protection.”

Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act

The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act allows eligible employed parents whose newborn baby is admitted to neonatal care to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave, in addition to other leave entitlements such as maternity and paternity leave.

“The secondary legislation will need to set out how this is going to be funded, whether by the government, employer or a mixture of both, and we await more details in due course and will be keeping our employer and retainer clients updated on any changes as it affects them,” said Susan.

Carer’s Leave Act

The Carer’s Leave Act 2023 will create a new statutory entitlement to one week of flexible unpaid leave per year for employees who are caring for a dependant with a long-term care need.

“With this being unpaid leave, it will need to be seen how much of an uptake of this there is, as always employment law is a constantly moving area of legislation, and it’s so important businesses keep themselves abreast of the changes or face tribunal,” added Susan.

How can we help

At Pearson, we have a specialist employment law department and work with business owners and HR professionals within businesses who need our expert legal advice.

For advice on all aspects of employment law, contact our employment law solicitors on 0161 785 3500 or email enquiries@pearsonlegal.co.uk.

Please note that the information and opinions contained in this article are not intended to be comprehensive, nor to provide legal advice. No responsibility for its accuracy or correctness is assumed by Pearson Solicitors and Financial Advisers Ltd or any of its members or employees. Professional legal advice should be obtained before taking, or refraining from taking, any action as a result of this article.

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