On Wednesday 23 May 2023, the following three bills received Royal Assent, which is the final step required for a parliamentary bill to become law:

  1. Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023
  2. Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023
  3. Carers Leave Act 2023.

Although the date of implementation into law has not yet been confirmed by the Government, it is anticipated to be in the not too distance future. Therefore, businesses are advised to carry out the necessary preparations sooner rather than later.

Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023

This act will provide further protection from redundancy, to employees that are on maternity, adoption or shared parental leave. Employers will be required to prioritise the employee in offering suitable alternative vacancies where they exist and this protection would apply from when an employee tells their employer they’re pregnant until 18 months after birth. Failure to do so could leave employers vulnerable to claims such as automatically unfair dismissal.

Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023

This will provide for a maximum of 12 weeks paid leave for parents whose new-born children, aged 28 days or less, are admitted into neonatal care for a continuous period of 7 days or more.

Carers Leave Act 2023

The Carers Leave Act will provide a statutory entitlement to  one week’s unpaid leave per year, to employees who provide or arrange care for a dependent with a long-term care need. This statutory entitlement will be available to employees from the first day of their employment.

Contact Farleys’ specialist employment solicitors to discuss how the above will affect your business and what preparations you need to put in place by way of advice,  policies and procedures.  We also advise on a wide range of HR and employment matters including contracts of employment, staff handbooks, absence from work, home-working, apprentices, recruitment, restructures, redundancy, disciplinaries, grievances, employee exits, settlement agreements, and Employment Tribunal defence and representation, please call 0845 287 0939, send an email through our online contact form, or use the online chat below.