Return from maternity leave
• Employers will need to ensure they have appropriate processes and training in place to ensure that they do not unlawfully dismiss employees who are on, or have recently returned from, family leave.
Right to bereavement leave
• Many employers already offer some form of bereavement leave, so this might have very limited impact for some, but employers who do not have such policies in place should take steps to introduce these in preparation for the new bereavement leave rights.
• We await further detail on the necessary relationship with the deceased in order to qualify.
Parental leave from day one
• Most employers are unlikely to see a big impact from this change as uptake of parental leave remains quite low and short in duration, partly because it is an unpaid entitlement.
Changes to paternity leave and shared parental leave
• This change widens the number of employees who will be eligible for paternity leave, however, the length of leave remains low at just two weeks.
