Legal eagle

/ 01 July 2009

Everything you need to know about employment law
This month… Parental leave shake-up enables long-term leave review

Parental leave shake-up enables long-term leave review

Organisations are bracing themselves for the potential impact of proposals by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which could see the number of employees taking time off for maternity and paternity reach record levels. Aimed at boosting the level of pay and creating a better balance in leave taken by new parents, they’re forecast to more than double the current cost of parental leave policies, taking the total to £5.3bn by 2020.

While good news for parents, the proposed changes will have a wide-ranging impact on employers, who need to continue to focus on solid structures to cope with staff being away and hiring the best candidates.

Rather than trying to avoid hiring anyone of child-bearing age, which is not only impractical but also discriminatory, it’s important to identify potential pressure points as part of a contingency planning exercise. This could not only assist employers in reviewing how family leave absence would be covered, but would also be beneficial for other lengthy absences, for example sabbaticals or long-term sick leave.
 
An evaluation of this kind should look at the methods of cover and any pros and cons. Could the absent employee's tasks be redistributed among existing staff? Care must be taken to ensure an employee is able to return to the job she left, a right enshrined in legislation.

Is internal recruitment the answer, because the opportunity may be taken to up-skill another employee? If so, it is not only the new mother or father who will require management. It should be made clear at the outset that this is a temporary move or promotion and the expectations of the employee providing cover should be carefully managed. 

Likewise, if you bring in a fixed-term employee to provide cover, their contractual notice provisions should be drafted with the possibility of an early return in mind. For example, if a woman has to give only eight weeks’ notice of an early return from maternity leave, there is no point having a fixed-term employee on a three-month notice period.

Communication is key with the employee on leave both before and during an extended leave period, including the use of ‘keeping in touch’ days. Puttting these frameworks in place means family leave can be managed with little business disruption while valuable employees can be retained.

Amanda Jones is an accredited discrimination law specialist and a partner with Maclay Murray & Spens