Small business owners are being urged by a top lawyer to open their eyes to the advantages of new maternity legislation.
Simon Coates, national head of employment law with Irwin Mitchell, is worried that employers will be misled into thinking that recent laws, which extend new mothers’ entitlement to statutory maternity pay from 26 to 39 weeks, will be detrimental to business.
This is a blinkered view of the situation, argues Coates, who believes that small business can benefit from the new rules in a multitude of ways.
“The legislation will help businesses plan more effectively, by extending the notice period mothers need to give when returning to work from four to eight weeks.”
Mr Coates added that the new measures would give payroll departments more flexibility by enabling businesses to split weekly payments into part-week amounts, which can begin on any day of the week so that leave and pay start simultaneously.
Coates also urged employers to think of the wider benefits of these new rights.
“Work by business Link and the Department for Trade and Industry suggests allowing working parents to combine jobs with looking after children helps retain skilled and experienced staff, improves employee morale and reduces absenteeism.”
Changes to paternity rights - which could allow mothers who return to work early to transfer up to three months of paid leave to their partners – are expected to come into force by the end of this Parliament and should also be embraced, Coates added.
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2006
