dads and mothers’ partners can take up to a year or parents can take several months at the same time.
From 1 October 2014, prospective fathers or a mother’s partner can take time off to attend up to 2 antenatal appointments.
Adoption leave and pay will reflect entitlements available to birth parents from April 2015 - no qualifying period for leave; enhanced pay to 90% of salary for the first 6 weeks; and time off to attend introductory appointments. Intended parents in surrogacy and ‘foster to adopt’ arrangements will also qualify for adoption leave and pay. From 30 June 2014, the right to request flexible working will be extended to all employees. The current statutory procedure, through which employers consider flexible working requests, will be replaced with a duty on employers to consider with requests in a ‘reasonable’ manner.
Further information:
Overview of the Children and Families Act Video ‘Children and Families Bill: a look back’ Children and Families Act 2014
More than four million people now regularly work from home
19 May 2014
The number of people who say they usually work from home increased by 62,000 over the course of last year to reach more than four million for the first time.
The findings are from a new TUC analysis published to mark national work from home day, organised by Work Wise UK.
The TUC analysis of figures from the Office for National Statistics shows that the number of regular home-workers has risen by over a half a million since 2007 – an increase of more than 10 per cent. Millions of workers across the UK occasionally work from home too, says the TUC. The biggest boom in home-working has taken place in the South East, where the number of home-workers has increased by 132,000 since 2007. However, people living in the South West are still the most likely to work from home, with around one in six regularly doing so. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK to have seen a fall in the number of home-workers since the recession, with less than one in ten workers currently working from home. There are many benefits from home-working, says the TUC, provided it is properly managed. People can save time and money on costly commutes, while the increased flexibility it provides gives people more control over their working time, as well as making it easier to balance work with caring responsibilities and the school run. Home-working is also an important way for disabled people to access the labour market, says the TUC. Around 650,000 people with a disability currently work from home. The growth of home-working may be starting to tail off however, says the TUC, as it has barely kept up with the overall rise in employment. Despite the clear benefits of home-working and demand from staff for more flexible ways of working, too many employers are still afraid of letting their staff work from home. The TUC is urging employers to let staff try out home-working, as they may find it benefits both the business and its workforce.
CIPP Policy News Journal
08/04/2015, Page 55 of 521
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