There are to be two new changes coming into force in April which will help working parents. These two changes have been brought about by government initiatives to consider family-friendly regulations within the workplace.
At DPR Roofing, roofing specialists in Leeds, Wakefield, Huddersfield, Barnsley and Pontefract, we believe following the principles to great a happy working environment, and this includes making sure our employees are comfortable with their work and family life balance. We welcome the new changes which are going to come into place for our roofers. From the 5th of April the following will be enforced:
Parental leave
Parental leave, which currently is unpaid and extends only up to the child’s fifth birthday will extend until they are 18 years old. (To be eligible you must have completed one year’s services with DPR Roofing). The new rules allow parents to take up to 18 weeks of unpaid leave before the child’s 18th birthday. This can either be straight after the birth, after any maternity or paternity cover or just as they wish. All that is stated is that 21 days’ notice must be given. You should also take blocks of a week or weeks off rather than just the odd day here and there and you can only take a maximum of four weeks a year.
Shared parental leave
The second change is that shared parental leave is to come into force from April 5th too. This means that employees have the right to request shared parental leave and pay. Basically you can share the 52 weeks mother’s entitlement to maternity leave. Both parents can submit to the employer however the employer could ask that the blocks are shared on a monthly basis, rather than one employee taking six months then the second taking six months too.
Even if a couple opt for SPL, a birth mother must still take at least two weeks leave following the birth of a child. Fathers can also take two weeks statutory parental leave and pay in addition to any shared parental leave.
DPR roofing has always keen accommodating to the needs of our employees and welcome some of these changes. We believe that providing a high quality roofing service, which includes roof repairs and new roofs, starts with happy employees so we are always looking to help our staff.