Employment Law update

Updates on Flexible working, Paternity Leave and Carers Leave are due to come into force on 6 April 2024.  These changes will necessitate updates to the following policies available below.

You should update your handbooks in line with the templates.  Please note that these template policies reflect the statutory minimum requirements. If you currently provide enhanced rights in respect of these issues, or intend to do so, you will need to reflect this in your policies. 

The upcoming legislative adjustments that have prompted these policy updates are as follows:

1. The right to request flexible working 

• Will become a day one right;
• Two requests will be permitted in any 12-month period;
• The information required in the request will change;
• The outcome of the process, including any appeal, must be communicated within two months;
• Employers can treat requests as withdrawn in certain circumstances;
• Employers will need to consult with employees before rejecting a request.

2. Changes to statutory paternity leave

The way in which paternity leave can be taken will change to give fathers/partners more flexibility. Namely, it will allow:

• Leave of two weeks to be taken as separate one-week blocks rather than consecutively;
• Leave to be taken at any point within the first year after the birth/adoption;
• Shorter notice of 28 days prior to each period of leave in birth cases;
• Variation of the dates by giving 28 days’ notice.

The changes apply to children whose expected week of childbirth is after 6 April or expected date of placement for adoption is on or after 6 April (though this technically came into force on 8 March).

3. New statutory right to one week’s unpaid carer’s leave 

• Employees will be able to take a week’s leave in any 12-month period to care for, or arrange care for, a dependant with a long-term care need. This comes with various requirements and timeframes for notification, and the ability for the employer to postpone the leave in certain circumstances.