You can read the infographic version of our guide here.
Increases to maternity leave and new rights to flexible working will come into force in September following the agreement by the States of Jersey to enact the new laws.
Although there are six months before the Draft Employment (Amendment of Law) (No. 2) (Jersey) Regulations 201- are due to take effect, now is the time for employers and HR teams to get to grips with the changes.
Five Things You Need to Know
Maternity leave - Increased to up to 26 weeks (with six weeks at full pay) with no qualifying period required
Parental leave - Increased to up to 26 weeks (with two weeks at full pay) with no qualifying period required
Antenatal appointments for the father/partner - Unlimited attendance with up to ten hours paid
Adoption leave - Equivalent to maternity and parental leave with the elected adopter taking the equivalent of maternity leave
Right to request flexible working - Now available to all employees from day one of employment, irrespective of reasons for the request
Five Things You Need to Do
Costs - Smaller employers especially must budget for increased costs as the amount of paid maternity and parental leave increases
Return to work - When someone takes maternity/paternity leave, you need to allow for their right to return to the same job that they left
Discrimination - The law protects pregnancy and maternity and makes it unlawful to discriminate, harass or victimise any person on these grounds, including in recruitment/promotion decisions
Communicate - Consider who in your team needs to know about the rules, and who needs specific training on one or more elements of the law
Rewrite - Your employee handbooks, policies and handouts to new starters will have to be updated in line with the new rules
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
