Paternity Pay and Flexible Working Changes

As you are probably aware Statutory Paternity Pay / Leave is available to employees for up to 2 weeks. Please note this leave can only be taken as complete weeks and not as odd days spread over a number of weeks.

Additional Paternity Pay/ Leave is available for employees with children born on or after 3 April 2011 for a period up to a maximum of 26 weeks and can be taken anytime from 20 weeks after the child is born and must have finished by the child’s first birthday. It is only payable if the mother has returned to work and was eligible for Maternity Pay. This also applies to parents adopting children on or after 3 April 2011.

For further details on this can be found at www.hmrc.gov.uk/paye/employees/statutory-pay/

Flexible Working Changes
If you have employees with children aged 18 or under they have the right to apply for more flexible working practices.

If:

• they have worked for their current employer continuously for the last 26 weeks prior to the application
• they have not made any other application to work flexibly during the last 12 months.

This request can include times and place of work as well as the number of hours worked or the pattern of hours worked. The employer must take any such request seriously and can only refuse it if there are clear business grounds for doing so.