New legal protections for parents and unpaid carers

The government has announced three Private Members’ Bills that will give new workplace protections to parents and unpaid carers. This means the government has backed these new laws but did not bring them forward itself. These have recently received Royal Assent.

The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 will allow eligible parents, whose newborn baby is admitted to neonatal care, to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave.

This applies to those with a parental or other personal relationship with the child.

It comes on top of other statutory entitlements, such as maternity and paternity leave.

The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023 will give an extension of existing redundancy protections while on maternity, adoption or shared parental leave which will also cover pregnancy and a period of time after the new parent has returned to work.

Thirdly, the Carer’s Leave Act 2023 will create a new statutory entitlement to one week of flexible unpaid leave per year for employees caring for a dependant with a long-term care need.

The government announcement confirms that secondary legislation is required before these new rights come into effect but simply states that this will happen “in due course”.

There may be different dates for these rights, as there will be separate statutory instruments. Further details are set out in a press release on the gov.uk website.