The government is currently consulting on proposals to allow new parents to share a year’s leave, and the extension of the right to request flexible working to all employees. On Thursday 2 May at 11.30am, employment relations minister Jo Swinson will join us and our sister site BusinessZone.co.uk for an exclusive live webchat to take questions on the changes.
Some of the points currently being consulted on include:
Shared parental leave
- Whether it would be beneficial to align the notice periods to inform employers of the intention to take paternity leave and pay
- How an employee will notify their employer of the leave they want to take
- Whether parents should have one year from the start of maternity leave or one year from the child’s birth date to use the shared parental leave and pay
- How employment protections on the right to return to the same job should work for shared parental leave
- How notification to employers will work with the new ‘fostering for adoption’ arrangements
Flexible working
- What is the best way to negotiate a successful request?
- How employers manage multiple or competing requests for flexible working and how employers can make fair decisions when considering requests?
- What obligations does an employer have when considering a request?
Join us at 11.30am on 2 May to pose your question in the chat box below. If you’d like to ask a question in advance, email it to editor@hrzone.co.uk. The Twitter hashtag is #familyfriendly.
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Image copyright: Keith Edkins