Employers urged to prepare for new parental leave provisions

Tuesday 21 August 2018

A local law firm is urging employers to update their handbooks, policies and contracts before extended maternity and paternity leave provisions come into force in less than two weeks.

The new rights offer 26 weeks of leave to parents with no qualifying period, with six weeks paid at the employee's usual full rate by their employer.

Partners will also have the right to attend an unlimited number of antenatal appointments, with the first ten hours of appointments paid by their employer.

The current rules offer new mothers two weeks of paid leave, and an additional six weeks of unpaid leave, with an extra ten weeks of unpaid leave for employees with more than 15 months' service. Under existing rules, new fathers are entitled to two weeks' unpaid leave and do not have the right to time off for antenatal appointments.

The new provisions were adopted by the States Assembly in March following a review by the Employment Forum. There form part of the first phase of changes to the Employment law. The second phase, which is recommended to come into force in September 2019, could see parental leave extended to 52 weeks, including six weeks paid, for each parent Adoptive parents, and those in a surrogacy arrangement, would also be entitled to the leave, which could be taken in four blocks within a three-year period.

 Pictured: Ogier Associate Laura Shirreffs urged employers to act fast to adapt to the new regulations.

Laura Shirreffs (pictured above), an associate in Ogier's Jersey employment law team, said that employers who had not yet updated key documents should make sure that they had done so by the start of September.

She added: "These are significant changes to statutory minimum provisions that must be reflected in contracts and policies of employers in the Island.

"Employers must also review their recruitment policies - the law protects pregnancy and maternity and makes it unlawful to discriminate, harass or victimise any person on these grounds, including in decisions about recruitment or promotion.

"For the vast majority of employers this will be a simple exercise, but it is crucial that their policies, contracts and handbooks reflect the wording of the reformed law from the start of September."