REGULATORY · UK
UK expands sick pay and parental leave
Change
The UK will expand statutory sick pay from April and introduce day-one rights to paternity leave and unpaid parental leave from next month under the Employment Rights Act changes.
Why it matters
From April, statutory sick pay is strengthened and extends to workers who earn below £125 a week. Approximately 4.7 million women are estimated to benefit from the sick pay change, including more than 830,000 receiving statutory sick pay for the first time. From next month, fathers and partners have a day-one right to paternity leave. From next month, all parents have a day-one right to unpaid parental leave.
Implications
- • Payroll and HR processes must apply statutory sick pay to employees newly eligible under the earnings-threshold change.
- • Employers must administer paternity leave as a day-one entitlement for fathers and partners.
- • Employers must administer unpaid parental leave as a day-one entitlement for all parents.
Who is affected
- • Payroll and HR teams
- • Employers administering leave entitlements
- • Low-paid employees newly eligible for statutory sick pay
- • Fathers, partners, and parents using day-one leave rights
Source
Topics
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