Summary of working parents' rights

Maternity leave and pay

Expectant mothers generally have the right to 26 weeks' ordinary maternity leave (paid) and, if they meet certain conditions, to 26 weeks' additional maternity leave (unpaid). Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is paid at 90% of average weekly earnings for the first 6 weeks of ordinary maternity leave and at the lesser of £108.85 per week or 90% of average weekly earnings for the remaining 20 weeks of ordinary maternity leave. Mothers who don't qualify for SMP may be able to claim Maternity Allowance (MA).

Maternity rights are changing for mothers whose babies are expected on or after 1st April 2007. Details of the rights applying before and after that date are set out in two separate versions of Employment Rights Booklet ER 16. Also useful in terms of the current rights is the Social Security Agency's booklet NIL17A , dealing with entitlements to SMP and MA.

Employees

View a handy factsheet for employees setting out the new maternity rights applying where a woman's baby is due on or after 1st April 2007
Download a leaflet which details the new maternity rights for women whose babies are due on or after 1st April 2007
Employees can work out their maternity leave and pay entitlements using the tool on the Directgov * web-site.

Employers

View a handy factsheet for employers setting out the new maternity rights applying where a woman's baby is due on or after 1st April 2007
Download a leaflet which details important changes to employment legislation, including the new maternity rights for employees whose babies are due on or after 1st April 2007
This model letter for employers to acknowledge notification of maternity leave (of which two versions are supplied) is also available for download.
Employers work out the entitlements of a new or expectant mother on their staff at nibusinessinfo.co.uk .
Employers can also use the Statutory Maternity Pay calculator from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs

Paternity leave and pay

Employees, if they fulfil certain conditions, are entitled to two weeks’ paid paternity leave around the time of the birth of a child or around the time a child is newly placed for adoption. Leave must generally be taken in one block (of one or two weeks) within the first eight weeks of the child’s birth or placement for adoption. An exception to this is in the case of a premature birth, where the new father will be permitted to take paternity leave and pay within 8 weeks of either the child’s birth or the expected week of childbirth, whichever is the later. Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) is currently paid at the rate of £108.85 per week or 90% of average weekly earnings. For more detailed information on the right to paternity pay and leave, you can consult our Employment Rights Booklet ER 34.

Employees

Employees can download and fill in a form to give to their employer when asking for paternity leave. Choose from the self-certificate of entitlement to paternity leave and pay in respect of a birth child , the self-certificate of entitlement to paternity leave and pay in respect of a child placed for adoption under UK law or the self-certificate of entitlement to paternity leave and pay in respect of a child adopted from overseas .
Employees can also work out their paternity leave and pay entitlements as parents of birth or adoptive children using the interactive tools on the Directgov * web-site.

Employers

To work out what employers need to do if an employee wants to take paternity leave , try the interactive tool at nibusinessinfo.co.uk .

Adoption leave and pay

Adoption leave is available to employees, provided certain conditions are met, for up to 26 weeks around the time the child is placed with them for adoption. Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) is payable during this period at the lesser of £108.85 per week or 90% of average weekly earnings. The adopter's partner, if he or she is an employee and meets certain conditions, is entitled to paternity leave in respect of the adopted child (see paternity leave above).

Adoption rights are changing for adopters where the child is expected to be placed for adoption on or after 1st April 2007. Details of the rights applying to adoptions under the law of the UK before and after that date are set out in two separate versions of the guidance booklet ER 35 Adoptive Parents: a guide for employers and employees. The booklet also includes information on adoptions from overseas.

Employees wishing to take adoption leave

Download a leaflet which details the new adoption rights that apply to employees whose child is due to placed with them for adoption on or after 1st April 2007
Employees can download a Certificate of notification of matching with a child for adoption which they can give to their employer as evidence of being matched with a child for adoption under UK law.
They can fill in and give their employer the self-certificate of entitlement to adoption leave and pay in respect of a child adopted from overseas .
They can work out their adoption leave and pay entitlements using the adoption leave and pay tool on the Directgov * web-site.

Employees wishing to take paternity leave in respect of an adoption

Employees can fill in and give their employer the self-certificate of entitlement to paternity leave and pay in respect of a child placed for adoption under UK law or in respect of a chid adopted from overseas .
They can use the tool for adoptive parents wishing to take paternity leave to work out their leave and pay entitlements.

Employers

Download a leaflet which details important changes to employment legislation including the new adoption rights for employees who are due to have a child placed with them for adoption on or after 1st April 2007
Employers can use the interactive tool at nibusinessinfo.co.uk to work out what they need to do if an employee wants to take adoption leave.
A similar tool to help employers work out what they need to do if an employee wants to take paternity leave is also available.

Right to request flexible working conditions

Employers have a legal duty to consider seriously requests from employees who are parents of young or disabled children to work flexible hours. Note that this is a right to request flexible working conditions rather than a right to have such a request granted. There are business grounds on which a request can be refused by an employer.

Further details on how to make a request, and how to consider and respond to one, can be found in our Employment Rights Booklet ER 36.
Forms to help employees and employers with flexible working requests can be downloaded from the publications area of our website. The Employment Rights Booklet ER 36 provides more detailed information on how the forms should be used.

Employees

Download a leaflet which details the right to request flexible working for employees who have caring responsibilities for an adult relative or another adult living at their address
CarersUK have prepared guidance for employed carers on the right to request
The interactive tool on the Directgov * web-site is designed to help you establish whether you qualify for the right to request flexible working .
Employees can also obtain assistance on putting together a flexible working case to present to their employer.

Employers

Download a leaflet which details important changes to employment legislation including the extension of the right to request flexible working to employees with caring responsibilities
CarersUK have published guidance for employers on the right to request flexible working for carers, as well as research (including an executive summary ) showing the business benefits of flexible working
Employers can find out how to choose the right type of flexible working for their employees and their business at nibusinessinfo.co.uk
ACAS has produced a booklet detailing how employers can implement flexible working .

Parental leave

Employees who are 'birth' or adoptive parents can take 13 weeks' unpaid parental leave for each child. This leave may be taken up to the child's fifth birthday or the fifth anniversary of adoption until the child is 18. If the child is disabled, 18 weeks' leave is available until the child's eighteenth birthday. How the leave is taken can be agreed between employee and employer; however, as a minimum, an employee can take leave in blocks of one week or more (for example two- or three-week blocks) up to a maximum of four weeks in a year for each child. Parents whose child is entitled to Disability Living Allowance can take the leave in days or periods shorter than a week. For more information, see the Employment Rights Booklet ER 25 .

How the law is changing: comparative table

Current position	Under the new regulations
All pregnant employees are entitled to 26 weeks’ Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML). However, only women who have worked for their employer for long enough can take a further 26 weeks’ Additional Maternity Leave (AML).	All pregnant employees with babies expected on or after 1st April 2007 are entitled to a year’s maternity leave consisting of 26 weeks’ OML and 26 weeks’ AML.
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is paid for 26 weeks. Six weeks is paid at 90% of average weekly earnings and 20 weeks at a flat rate (currently £108.85 a week) or 90% of average weekly earnings if that amount is lower.	For pregnant employees whose baby is due on or after 1st April 2007, SMP is paid for 39 weeks. Six weeks is paid at 90% of average weekly earnings and 33 weeks at a flat rate (currently £108.85 a week) or 90% of average weekly earnings if that amount is lower.
Maternity Allowance (MA) is paid by the state to most employed or self-employed women who don’t qualify for SMP. It is paid for 26 weeks at a flat rate (currently £108.85 a week) or 90% of the woman’s average weekly earnings if that amount is less.	Where a qualifying woman’s baby is due on or after 1st April 2007, MA is paid for 39 weeks at a flat rate (currently £108.85 a week) or 90% of the woman’s average weekly earnings if that amount is less.
All employees adopting a child, who have 26 weeks’ service with their employer into the week in which they are notified of having been matched with a child for adoption, are entitled to a year’s adoption leave. The leave consists of 26 weeks’ Ordinary Adoption Leave (OAL) and 26 weeks’ Additional Adoption Leave (AAL).	No change has been made to adoption leave arrangements because, unlike the existing maternity arrangements, all employees who qualify for Statutory Adoption Pay are already eligible for a year’s adoption leave.
Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) is available for 26 weeks at a flat rate (currently £108.85 a week) or 90% of the adopter’s average weekly earnings if this amount is lower.	SAP is available for 39 weeks where the child’s placement for adoption is expected from 1st April 2007. It is paid at a flat rate (currently £108.85 a week) or 90% of the adopter’s average weekly earnings if this amount is lower.
A woman or adopter loses one week’s SMP, MA or SAP for each week in which she does any work (however little) for her employer under her contract of service, and risks ending her protected period of maternity leave if she does any work during it.	A woman or adopter, where the birth or placement is expected from 1st April 2007, can go into work for up to 10 mutually agreed ‘keeping in touch days’ during her maternity or adoption leave, without losing SMP, MA or SAP entitlement for those weeks.
A woman or adopter is required to give at least 4 weeks’ notice to her employer of her intention to return to work earlier or later than previously agreed or notified.	Where a birth or adoption is expected on or after 1st April 2007, a woman or adopter is required to give at least 8 weeks’ notice to her employer of her intention to return earlier or later than previously agreed or notified.
A woman’s Maternity Pay Period normally starts on a Sunday, although it may start on any day of the week if triggered because the baby is early or the mother ill.	Women whose babies are due on or after 1st April 2007 can start their Maternity Pay Period on any day of the week so that maternity leave can be aligned with pay.
An adopter’s Adoption Pay Period normally begins on the day of, or the day after, the child’s placement for adoption, or on a date up to 2 weeks before the expected placement date.	There is no change to the way in which the Adoption Pay Period is started.
SMP, SAP and Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) are calculated and paid on the basis of a weekly rate. Weekly payments cannot be split.	SMP, SAP and SPP remain weekly entitlements for pregnant employees or adopters where the child’s birth or placement is expected on or after 1st April 2007. However, employers can split weekly payments over 2 pay periods if this makes administration easier.
Parents with children under 6 or disabled children under 18 can make a request to work flexibly, and their employers have a statutory duty to consider their requests seriously.	From 6th April 2007, employees who care for a spouse, partner, civil partner, near relative or someone living at the same address also have the right to request flexible working and their employers will have the same statutory duty to consider.
New fathers can take up to two weeks' paternity leave with Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) paid at 90% of average weekly earnings or the same standard rate as SMP (£108.85 a week), whichever is the lower amount.	No change in April 2007. However, a new right to Additional Paternity Leave and Pay will be introduced at a later date (not before April 2008). This will allow fathers to take up to 26 weeks' leave and to receive pay where the mother has decided to return to work before the end of her leave and pay entitlement.
Parents are able to take 13 weeks’ unpaid parental leave up to child’s fifth birthday. Parents of disabled children able to take 18 weeks’ unpaid parental leave up to the child’s 18th birthday.	There is no change to parental leave.

*although Directgov deals with the law in Great Britain, the same rights apply in Northern Ireland.