"Family-Friendly" Employment Legislation

The law has recently undergone substantial change, providing a raft of new rights for working parents in the workplace. So long as the working parent meets the specific qualifying requirements for the specific right in question, the working parent is entitled to the following basic minimum statutory rights:

	Parental leave;
	Leave in cases of family emergency;
	Right to request a flexible working pattern.

It is, of course, open to the employer to provide greater rights through provisions in the contract of employment.

Notice Requirements

In order to benefit from most of these rights, the employee must give the employer the appropriate notice to claim leave and pay, providing the necessary information. Timetables for sending notices are strict and unless the employee provides the appropriate notice within time, or in some cases as soon as reasonably practicable, there is a risk that the employee will forfeit his or her rights. In some cases, employees also have to give the appropriate notice at the end of the leave period (usually when returning early).

Equally, employers are under a duty to respond within strict deadlines, and a failure to do so may amount to a detriment, allowing the employee to bring a claim in the Employment Tribunal.

Enforcement and Remedies

If a qualifying employee seeks to assert one of these rights and suffers a detriment or dismissal as a result, he or she may apply to an Employment Tribunal for:

	Unfair dismissal (where there is a statutory cap on compensation — currently exceeds £60,000);
	Sex discrimination (where there is no compensation limit); or
	Compensation for suffering a detriment by asserting the specific statutory right (various limits).

The types (or "heads") of losses for which the Employment Tribunal may order compensation are as follows:

	Loss of earnings, including future loss of earnings to a period determined by the Employment Tribunal;
	Value of benefits lost as a result of the employee suffering detriment or dismissal;
	Injury to feelings, up to £25,000 — but in certain cases, awards may exceed this figure;
	Personal Injury (e.g. diagnosed psychiatric stress or other illness caused by the employer breaching "family-friendly" rights);
	Aggravated damages, where the loss of earnings may be low but the employer's acts have a much larger impact than that measured by loss of earnings compensation.

Claims in the Employment Tribunal usually may only be brought within a limited time of the act complained of. Missing this deadline may mean that the employee loses his or her right to bring a claim.

The information on these pages is only a brief summary and is intended as a guide to the rights. If you have any specific questions with regards to these "family-friendly" rights, you should seek legal advice. The law as stated is accurate as of 6th April 2005.

Article first published June 2003
Revised April 2007