The government’s Employment Bill which includes a raft of flexibility measures has received Royal Assent.
Over 350,000 new mothers will get an extra £1,100 in maternity pay. Fathers too will for the first time be entitled to two weeks’ paid paternity leave of £200.
In all, 3.6 million parents will benefit from the Bill which comes into force in April 2003.
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry Patricia Hewitt said: “We are committed to delivering for working families and to simplifying regulation for business. This package is good for British business and it is good for the people who work in business.
“We are committed to delivering for working families and to simplifying regulation for business,” she said. “The package is good for business and for the people who work in business.”
Other measures include:
Six months paid maternity leave and a further six months unpaid for working mothers;
An increase from £62 to £100 in the weekly rate of maternity leave pay;
The legal right to work flexibly for parents with children under six years;
The legal right to apply to work for flexibly for parents with disabled children up to the age of 18 years.
Do you have measures in place to deal with the Employment Bill? Do you welcome increased flexibility for staff? Could it cause havoc?