The Issue
Employees whose babies are due to be born on or after this
Sunday, 5 October, will benefit from the changes to the Sex
Discrimination Act 1975 which came into force in April this
year.
These changes also benefit those employees who are due to adopt on
or after this date.
The Consequences
Such employees must receive the same terms and conditions of employment during Additional Maternity ("AML") or Adoption Leave ("AAL") as during their Ordinary Maternity or Adoption Leave and all non pay benefits under their contract such as annual leave, gym membership, health cover and car provision will continue to accrue during their entire maternity or adoption leave.
Businesses can no longer discount periods of AML or AAL when calculating seniority and certain discretionary benefits.
The position on pension entitlements during unpaid periods of additional leave remains unchanged so that, unless there is a clear agreement to do so, businesses still do not have to make pension payments during periods of unpaid AML or AAL.
The Solution
Businesses should:
- immediately review and update their maternity and adoption
leave policies and practices to address the continuation of non pay
benefits during AML and AAL;
- ensure that periods of compulsory maternity leave are
considered in discretionary bonus calculations;
- state in their contracts that pensions are a pay related
benefit.
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.
