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8 November 2005

SMITH AND HANSON MAKE FAMILY FRIENDLY LEGISLATION PLEDGE

New legislation giving working families greater flexibility to manage their professional and private lives will be introduced in Northern Ireland.

Welcoming the introduction in Great Britain of the new legislation, called the "Work and Families Bill", Employment and Learning Minister Angela Smith MP and Social Development Minister David Hanson MP pledged to introduce similar measures in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith said: "The 'work and families' measures currently under consideration at Westminster are designed to provide support for those with caring responsibilities, to give them greater choice in how they balance work and home. Consultation in Northern Ireland showed broad support for this family-friendly approach and I feel that it is important that employees in Northern Ireland are given the same opportunities as those in Great Britain."

David Hanson explained that: "Paid maternity leave will be extended to nine months, with the eventual aim of increasing it to a year. Similar changes will also be made to maternity allowance."

Emphasising that the package recognises the role of both parents in bringing up a child, Angela Smith added: "Fathers, too, will gain through the introduction of a new right to additional paternity leave."

The package of family-friendly measures will include:

  • the extension of Statutory Maternity Pay and Maternity Allowance to nine months from April 2007, with the aim of extending to a year by the end of the Parliament (including extending eligibility for additional maternity leave);

  • a power to introduce new paternity leave for fathers, enabling them to benefit from leave and statutory pay if the mother returns to work after six months but before the end of her maternity leave period;

  • the right to request flexible working for carers from April 2007;

  • measures to help businesses manage the administration of Statutory Maternity, Paternity and Adoption Pay;

  • the introduction of 'keeping in touch' days so that, where employees and employers agree, a woman on maternity leave can go into work for a few days without losing her right to maternity leave or a week's statutory pay;

  • extending the period of notice for return from maternity leave to two months, enabling employees and employers to plan more effectively for return to work; and

  • making clear that employers can make reasonable contact with their employees on maternity leave to help employers plan and ease the mother's return to work.

Assuring the local business community that the new legislation being introduced here will include measures designed to help businesses manage the changes, Angela Smith concluded: "I fully recognise that it is important to make any new legislation manageable for employers, particularly small businesses. The package of measures contains a number of provisions designed to help employers deal with employees taking time off to give their child the best start in life."

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1. Further details on the Work and Families consultation in Northern Ireland can be found at www.delni.gov.uk/workandfamilies

2. A Northern Ireland Order-in-Council will be drafted corresponding to the GB Work and Families Bill introduced at Westminster on 18 October 2005.

3. Media enquiries to the Department for Employment and Learning Press Office on 028 9025 7790.

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