Global Compliance Desk – United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Upcoming Amendments to Paternity Leave and Flexible Working Request

United Kingdom is coming up with several changes in their paternity leave and flexible working regulations which shall in general improve the work-life balance of employees across the country.         

Amendment to Paternity Leave Regulation

The UK government has laid before the Parliament, the draft Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (Regulation), The Amendment reflects a changing attitude towards work-life balance and gender equality as both maternity leave and paternity leave continue to evolve. Even though the Regulation came into force on March 8, 2024, these changes will apply to children whose expected week of childbirth begins after April 6, 2024. In adoption cases, the changes will apply where the child’s expected date of placement is on or after April 6, 2024. The amendments are as follows – 

Length of Paternity Leave – Under the current law, eligible employees can take either one or two consecutive weeks of paid paternity leave within the first 8 weeks of their child’s life or adoption placement. The paternity leave must be taken in a single block and cannot be split. 

According to the proposed amendment, fathers and partners shall be provided with the flexibility to split their two weeks of paid paternity leave into two separate blocks.

Timing of Paternity Leave – Currently, employees have to take Paternity Leave within 56 days (8 weeks) of the birth or adoption of the child. 

According to the proposed amendments, fathers and partners shall now be able to take paternity leave at any time in the 52 weeks after the birth or adoption.

Notification of Leave – Currently, employees must give notice of their leave dates 15 weeks before the birth or adoption. 

According to the proposed amendment, employees will only need to inform their employer of their entitlement to leave 15 weeks before the expected week of childbirth, but they don’t have to give specific dates at the time. Instead, notice of the actual dates need only be given 28 days in advance of the intended leave dates. (However, for domestic adoption cases, the notice period for leave will stay at seven days after the adopter is matched with a child).

Amendment to Flexible Work Request

The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill (Legislation) received Royal Assent on 20 July 2023. In January 2024, Acas (The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) published a revised version of its updated statutory code on dealing with flexible work requests, for parliamentary approval.  The legislation shall come into force on April 6, 2024.   

“Acas” works with millions of employers and employees every year to improve workplace relationships. They are an independent public body that receives funding from the government.

As a result of this legislation, the statutory entitlement to make a flexible working request will become a ‘day one’ right, the number of flexible working requests an employee can make each year will increase to two, and employers must consult with employees before rejecting a request.

Once the legislation is implemented – 

• • • It shall allow employees to make two (rather than one) flexible working requests in any 12 month period (but there can only be one live application at a time),
    • It shall not have the requirement to consult the employee before deciding on flexible work if the employer is going to agree the request in full. The discussion should be recorded in writing if the employee takes up the offer; a discussion does not need to take place if both parties agree it is unnecessary;
    • If the employer is unable to agree with a request in full, it should discuss potential modifications with the employee and a reference to the possibility of a trial period to assess feasibility shall also be added;
    • There shall be no statutory right for the employee to appeal a decision, nor to be accompanied, but both are good practices; it also now reminds employers that an accurate written record of any appeal meeting should be made;
    • A different manager should be appointed to handle an appeal.
    • It shall require employers to make their decision within two rather than three months (unless an extension is agreed upon), and
    • It shall remove the requirement that the employee must explain in the statutory request what effect the change would have on the employer and how that might be dealt with.

The statutory regime for flexible work requests includes a general obligation to deal with a statutory request ‘in a reasonable manner’; tribunals are required to take the statutory code into account where relevant, which will include when considering what amounts to a reasonable manner in a particular case.

Next Steps: Employers must begin with updating company policies and documentation in line with the new employment law. Revising its paternity leave policies is the first step for employers to take, updating to include the fathers/partners’ ability to split their paternity leave. This includes updating employee handbooks and other internal documentation to ensure consistency.

Furthermore, employers will also need to start updating their flexible work request policies in time for April 6, 2024.  The changes to the right to request (allowing requests from day one of employment, and two requests a year) could mean an increase in requests and therefore an increased risk of facing linked discrimination claims (for example, refusals of requests to work from home could in some cases be indirect sex, disability or age discrimination).