The legal requirements of employing parents

Did you know that 76.7% of mothers and 91.8% of fathers in the UK are currently employed?

Parents make up a huge chunk of our workforce and that’s why, as a business owner, you need to understand the legal requirements of employing parents.

Key considerations for employing parents:

Maternity leave and pay

Pregnant employees can take 52 weeks of maternity leave: 26 weeks Ordinary and 26 weeks Additional.

Eligible employees get Statutory Maternity Pay for up to 39 weeks.

They must tell you at least 15 weeks before their due date when they plan to start leave.

Paternity leave and pay

Partners can take one or two weeks’ paid paternity leave within 56 days of the birth. They can also attend up to two antenatal appointments unpaid.

Shared Parental Leave

Parents can share up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay between them. This offers more flexibility for modern families.

Adoption leave

Primary adopters can take up to 52 weeks of leave. Statutory Adoption Pay is available for 39 weeks, if they’re eligible.

Parental leave

Parents with at least one year of service can take up to 18 weeks of unpaid leave per child up to their 18th birthday.

Pregnancy loss support

For miscarriages before 24 weeks, offer compassionate and/or sick leave. For stillbirths (after 24 weeks) or neonatal death, full maternity and paternity rights apply, plus two weeks of parental bereavement leave.

Flexible working requests

All employees now have the right to request flexible working from day one of employment. For parents, this might be essential for managing childcare.

Health and safety for pregnant employees

Your legal duties include:

• Conducting specific risk assessments
• Removing or reducing any risks identified
• Adjusting working conditions or hours if needed
• Offering suitable alternative work if risks can’t be removed
• Suspending the employee on full pay if no suitable alternative work exists

Breastfeeding accommodations

For employees returning from maternity leave, you must:

• Provide suitable rest facilities, including a place to lie down
• Make reasonable adjustments for breastfeeding mothers
• Ensure that there’s a clean, private space (not a toilet) for expressing milk
• Provide proper storage for expressed milk

Return to work support

Plan carefully for employees returning from parental leave:

• Arrange “keeping in touch” days during leave (up to 10 paid days)
• Hold a pre-return meeting to discuss concerns
• Consider phased returns or temporary flexible working
• Update them on changes that happened during their absence
• Provide a re-induction if needed
• Train managers to support the transition

Get in contact to make sure you’re legally complaint

I’ve helped loads of businesses, just like yours, to create places where parents can do their best work.

Get in touch today for a friendly conversation and some straightforward advice to help your parent employees and your business succeed together.