Maternity pay and leave changes.   Find out how these changes could impact your business.

Did you know….?   Support for trade unions. Desk skiving. Britons work longer. Anxiety and depression

Maternity pay and leave changes.

It was announced in the November 04 pre-budget report that the 26 weeks SMP entitlement will be ‘initially’ extended to 39 weeks from April 2007 with ‘a goal of twelve months paid maternity leave by the end of the next parliament’. The proposals also consider a similar extension to periods of maternity allowance and adoption pay. A consultation document ‘Work and Families, Choice and Flexibility’ issued by the DTI considers these proposals in more detail. Find out how these changes will impact you and your business by looking at the full article on our website.

Proposals

Primarily, the proposals aim to ‘ensure every child has the best start in life’ and ‘give families more choice about how they balance their work and family life’ particularly in the first year of the child’s life.  As a consequence much emphasis is placed on encouraging flexible working, providing adequate support and advice to parents and increasing the availability of child care provision.  The government in its proposals suggest that ‘there have been considerable changes in household working patterns over recent years’.  These changes include a growth in the population of ‘work rich’ households whereby both parents are working unlike previous years where it was normal to rely on one income.  There has also been a significant rise in lone parents from 44% to 54% in the last decade.

Changes to family life

According to research, changes in family life and working patterns are set to continue.  For example, it is expected that women with higher qualifications are more likely to return to work following maternity leave than unskilled mothers and women are gaining higher qualifications at a faster rate than men, also the changes in demographics, the ageing population and smaller families.  Interestingly, according to research conducted by the Social Policy Research Unit, University of York, ‘one in five people will end up caring for another adult at some point in their lives’.

Business advantages

In terms of the business environment, many employers including those engaged with Picasso HR have already responded positively to the issue of ‘work life balance’.  Business owners recognise that ultimately the success of their business depends on recruiting and retaining the right people and by supporting this important asset through appropriate family friendly policies; they are more likely to gain a significant competitive advantage. Note: Need to review your current policy or consider introducing more family friendly options for your employees?, please contact Picasso HR 01473 890037.

The Government suggests that research revealed many employers consider the introduction of family friendly policies to be ‘cost effective’ in fact 75% of managers report there to be ‘minimal or no cost involved’ when introducing such policies and 66% considered the increase in flexibility to be ‘cost effective’.

In comparison with other countries the UK has traditionally lagged behind Europe in its provisions for Maternity, Paternity and Adoption leave and pay.  However, during the last decade the UK has introduced additional provisions such as paternity pay which has place us amongst the leading group of European Countries on this measure, furthermore the UK has the longest period of maternity leave at 26 weeks in the European Union. 

However despite the current arrangements, parents continue to find balancing their commitments difficult to manage hence the governments’ decision to introduce additional benefits.  For example, although most mothers receive 6 months paid maternity leave the additional 26 weeks (if they qualify) is unpaid, therefore unless parents have a further source of income or can rely of savings mothers feel forced to return to the workplace for financial reasons before they want to. 

Consultation stage

Consequently the government is calling for your views on how they should meet the following goals and commitments:

• extending Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), Maternity Allowance (MA) and Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) to nine months from April 2007, towards the goal of a year’s paid leave by the end of the next Parliament
• improving communication between parents and employers during maternity leave, including reforming the periods of notice to be given by an employee prior to returning to work
• introducing a right for mothers to transfer a proportion of their statutory maternity leave and pay to fathers, and considering whether transferring payment of SMP, SAP and Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) from employers, and MA from the Department for Work and Pensions, to the Inland Revenue would make administration easier for employers
• considering extending the right to request flexible working to carers of sick and disabled relatives and parents of older children

Picasso HR will be considering each of these points in turn over the next few months, your views; comments and opinions regarding this matter would be gratefully received.

Did you know….?

Support for trade unions fell in the UK during 2004.  The decrease, said to be the equivalent of 36,000 people, has resulted in just 17.2% of private sector employees and 58.8% of public sector employees as union members in 2004.

A recent study revealed that one third of office staff could be adding a further 14 days unofficial holiday a year through ‘desk skiving’.  More than 80% of those employees with internet and mobile phone access at work confirmed they went online or text friends/family for personal reasons when they should have been working.

The Still at Work? report by the Work Foundation revealed that Britons are still working longer hours than almost all European counterparts.  The report found that on average Britons work 60 hours per week.  Ireland tops the list in 1st Place, the UK is second and Portugal third.

Anxiety and depression are the most common reasons for people starting to claim long term sickness benefits according to a new survey.  The British Medical Journal has called for more to be done to help people to return to work suggesting that the longer one is away the harder it can be to return.  It is recognised that nearly two-thirds of employers have formal rehabilitation arrangements in place those that don’t should seriously consider appropriate strategies.  For more information on how you can incorporate specific arrangements for your employees, contact Picasso HR 01473 890037.

The information in this newsletter is of a general nature and is not a substitute for professional advice. You are recommended to obtain specific professional advice before you take any action.

For further information, advice or assistance on any of the matters raised in this newsletter please contact Picasso HR on 01473 890037.

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