Leave and work patterns change

Following the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023, which allows parents up to 12 weeks’ paid leave if their new-born baby is admitted to neonatal care, regulations in the pipeline will affect leave and work patterns in 2024:

• the Maternity Leave, Adoption Leave and Shared Parental Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 will extend the period of special protection from redundancy for employees on those kinds of leave;

• the Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023 will remove the requirement for 26 weeks’ service before an employee can request flexible working, making this a day-one right;

• the Carer’s Leave Regulations 2024 will provide a day-one right for up to one week of unpaid carer’s leave, in any 12-month period; and

• rights under the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023 are expected to come into force in September 2024 and will introduce a new statutory “right to request” a more predictable working pattern.