EMPLOYERS are being urged to plan and prepare for staff absence as new parental leave regulations come into force next month.

New employment regulations on shared parental leave mean that couples with babies due, or children matched or placed for adoption, after April 5 will be able to share leave. Designed to give more choice over who cares for a baby in its first year of life, a mother will be able to opt out of maternity leave, taking shared parental leave instead. She will still have access to 52 weeks of maternity leave, but, with the exception of the mandatory two weeks leave following birth, this will be shareable with the child’s other parent.

Sarah Pugh, consultant employment law solicitor at Worcester law firm Gordon Lutton warned: ‘With the changes now only weeks away, it is absolutely vital that employers prepare themselves for this change in legislation. Ultimately, more employers will be asked by male employees to take extended periods of time away from work to look after their children. The challenge for employers will be to manage this absence whilst retaining business as usual.

‘Employers who currently offer enhanced maternity pay to female employees will have to decide whether to pay those on shared parental leave the same enhanced rate or drop it back to the statutory minimum. However, failing to keep the enhanced rate, may lead to claims of sex discrimination.

"Open and honest communication between employers and employees is going to be key to the success of this initiative, allowing both parties adequate time to plan."

One key aspect of shared parental leave is that it can be taken in several blocks with parents who are eligible being able to mix weeks of work and weeks of leave during the year. Employers are, in theory, entitled to turn down requests for blocks of leave, but employees also have the right to make three separate requests. Existing maternity and adoption rights and ordinary paternity leave and pay will remain in force. The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills estimates that around 285,000 couples will be eligible for the new benefit.