Summary
3.The Act’s main purposes are to:
extend the maximum period that may be prescribed in regulations as the period for which statutory maternity pay, maternity allowance and statutory adoption pay are payable from 26 weeks to 52 weeks;
introduce a new scheme that will provide certain employees (generally fathers) with a new entitlement to take leave to care for a child and a new entitlement to receive pay while they are on leave, if certain conditions are met;
widen the scope of the existing law on flexible working to enable more people with caring responsibilities to request to work flexibly;
provide a new power to increase on one occasion the maximum amount of a week’s pay which may be taken into account in the calculation of certain payments (for example, redundancy payments);
provide a new power to make provision about annual leave.
