Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

 

“1.0   Relevant Background Information

 

1.1     The Department for Employment and Learning has launched a public consultation exercise to seek views on whether it is appropriate ( and if so to what extent) to implement in N Ireland a programme corresponding to one that is being taken forward in Great Britain by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, setting out a framework of new rights for working parents. 

 

1.2     The Council has been asked by the Minister for Employment and Learning to respond to a number of questions as part of its consultation exercise on this.  The consultation document and draft response to the consultation questions is attached at Appendix A.

 

2.0     Key Issues

 

2.1     In February 2013, the UK government introduced into Parliament the Children and Families Bill which included provisions that will make fundamental changes to the statutory leave entitlements, both paid and unpaid, that are available to working parents in Great Britain.  The Minister for Employment and Learning has secured the agreement of the Executive to seek the views of local stakeholders on the merits of these proposals; the extent (if any) to which they should be implemented in N Ireland and whether or not alternative options may be appropriate.

 

2.2     The proposed new arrangements are designed to provide working parents with greater flexibility in determining how best to share the statutory pay and leave provisions associated with the birth or adoption of a child and sets out proposals to allow partners of either the mother or the primary adopter to become more involved in ante natal care or in the stages leading up to an adoption, where that is what both people want.

 

2.3     The second aspect of the consultation is a proposal to significantly broaden the existing right to request flexible working.

 

2.4     Appendix A provides a response to each of the questions contained in the consultation document.   These proposals support much of what the  Council is  trying to achieve in terms of:

 

       the promotion of diversity and equal opportunities

       being a best practice employer of choice

       attracting and retaining talent

       work-life balance, health and wellbeing and employee satisfaction.

 

         The overall proposed response from BCC to the proposals outlined in the consultation is therefore a positive one that welcomes suggested measures to facilitate the proper consideration and facilitation of requests for flexible working in a way that meets both council needs and employee needs.

 

         The proposals to allow more sharing of parental rights are also welcomed in our proposed response, but some of the potential practical issues that employers may face around implementation and administration of the proposed provisions are highlighted with suggestions on how they might be dealt with.  Essentially these are:

 

       the preference for shared leave plans to be agreed in advance where possible

       the need for sufficient notice periods, where feasible,  for employers to accommodate any changes in leave plans

       the need for an effective administration link between relevant employers to ensure accuracy of employee declarations and prevent misuse.

 

3.0     Resource Implications

 

3.1     The estimated resource implications of the proposals outlined are included in the consultation document.

 

4.0     Equality and Good Relations Implications

 

4.1     The Department of Employment and Learning has conducted an equality screening exercise and the consultation document contains a summary of the outcome of that work.

 

5.0     Recommendations

 

5.1     Strategic Policy and Resources Committee is asked to approve the draft response to the consultation on Sharing Parental Rights and Extending Flexibility at Work,   attached at Appendix A.

 

         Annex A: Question and Answer Booklet

 

         Your details

 

         Your name: Jill Minne

 

         If you are responding on behalf of an organisation

 

         Name of the organisation: Belfast City Council

 

         Your position within the organisation: Head of Human Resources

 

         Part I: Shared parental proposals – general

 

         Having read the information contained within this paper and the associateddocumentation, pleaseprovideus withyour opinions on the following questions.

 

Q1.    What are the arguments supporting the introduction/extension of the shared parental proposals to Northern Ireland?

 

         The proposals to share parental leave  look likely to support much of what Belfast City Council is  trying to achieve organisationally in terms of:

 

       the promotion of diversity and equal opportunities

       being a best practice employer of choice

       attracting and retaining talent

       work-life balance, health and wellbeing and employee satisfaction.

 

         Many services will welcome the early return of some workers from maternity leave.

 

Q2.    What are the arguments against this course of action?

 

 

·         Potential disruption to services if an employee shares leave in an intermittent pattern (eg 1 week in, 1 week off);

·         Additional administrative burden to line management and the Council’s Payroll function in particular

·         Knock-on effect on employees who are providing cover or are backfilling posts

·         6 weeks notice of changes to leave plans may not be sufficient  where there are cover/backfilling arrangements in place – and there is  lack of certainty about how long an employee will be on leave

·         The proposed system is dependent upon an employee and his/her partner co-ordinating the administration of their leave through self-certification – there is however no proposed checking/assurance mechanism in place to ensure there is no abuse of the system.

 

Q3.    What alternative approaches should be considered?

 

·         A requirement for a fixed pattern of leave to be agreed at an early stage

·         The need to provide both of the relevant employers with greater notice when  the agreed pattern of shared leave needs to change

·         An administrative link between the relevant employers to ensure accuracy of employee declarations and avoid unnecessary costs being incurred by both organisations

 

         Part II: Administration of shared parental rights

 

Q1.    Please provide any evidence on any administrative difficulties that the different notice periods for paternity leave and pay currently cause employers.

 

       There is potential difficulty around the ability to track the number of weeks taken to ensure the combined total does not exceed the statutory limit.  If the two claimants are employed by two different employers it could be problematic ensuring that together the maximum leave entitlement is not exceeded

 

Q2.    Do you agree with the proposal to align the notice period for paternity leave and pay at the end of the 15th week before the expected week of child birth (or within 7 days of being matched with a child for adopters)?

 

         YES  NO  

         Please explain.

 

       No objection to this proposal

 

 

Q3.    Do you think that a woman should have 4 or 6 weeks from birth to revoke her notice to end maternity leave and opt into the shared parental system where the notice has been given prior to birth?

 

         4 weeks

 

         6 weeks 

 

         Please explain.

 

       As much notice as possible is better for the employing organisation, given the potential disruption and impact on service delivery/cover arrangements.   It is accepted however that exceptional circumstances will arise and will need to be dealt with on an individual basis.

 

Q4.    Do you agree on the level of information to be provided by an employee as part of the notificationprocess?

 

         If not, please explain why and what information you would like to be required.

 

   An administrative link between the relevant employers would be helpful to seek to ensure the system is not vulnerable to misuse. The introduction of any new provisions might present an opportunity to review and strengthen assurance mechanisms

 

Q5.    Do you agree with the proposal to allow parents to notify their employer oftheir intentions as they require them?

 

         Please explain.

  

·         This section essentially requires employees to provide 8 weeks notice of any changes to their plans, which seems appropriate for an organisation like BCC.  It could however be insufficient time for some employers to put cover in place.

·         It might also result in delays to the processing of payment

·         This section envisages a scenario where one employer can facilitate a particular arrangement but the other cannot, and maps out how this impacts on both people and their employers (withdrawing applications; submitting new applications etc); this emphasises the need for an assurance/ communication channel between the relevant employers to seek to ensure clarity in the process of applications for shared leave.

 

Q6.    To allow employers to know their employees’ definite leave plans at least 6 weeks before any leave starts, it is proposed to set the negotiation period at 2 weeks.  Do you agree? Please explain.

 

·         This seems sufficient for straight-forward cases. However, where the requested pattern cannot be facilitated, there may be a need for further dialogue to reach an agreement, which may take longer than 2 weeks. It may be helpful for this section to include guidance that the negotiation period may be extended by mutual agreement.

 

Q7.    Do you think that thecut-off point for parents taking shared parental leave should be:52 weeks from start of maternity leave or 52 weeks from birth?

 

         Please explain.

 

·         52 weeks from birth would give maximum flexibility to parents without having a significant impact on the Council as a large employer. This may not however be the view of smaller employers.

 

Q8.    Is 10 KIT days per parent for shared parental leave the right number?

 

         Please explain.

 

·         10 KITs is sufficient for BCC. Smaller employers may have a different view of this.

 

 

Q9.    Which ‘right toreturn to the samejob’ option (1 or 2) would you prefer be applied to shared parental leave?

 

         Option 1             Right to return to the same job for employees continuous block of leave of 26 weeks or less or

 

         Option 2              Right to return to the same for employees returning from aggregated leave of up to 26 weeks even if the leave is nottaken as a single block.

 

         Please explain.

 

·         BCC could almost certainly facilitate option 2, even if the scheme established option 1 as a minimum standard.

 

Q10.  In cases of fostering to adopt where the child is matched and placed with the prospective adoptive parents on the same day, how can realisticnotification begiven to employers of the need to take adoption leave and pay?

 

·         The principles which apply in the case of premature birth/maternity leave & pay could be applied in this scenario. That is, the employee notifies the employer as soon as reasonably practicable. Where there is a good reason, late notification can be accepted for several weeks after premature birth and we should be able to facilitate the same for short-notice adoption and fostering placements given the likely (low) volume of such cases.

 

         Part III: Right to request flexible working

 

Q1.    Should the right to request flexible working be extended to all employeeswith anappropriate length of service, extended more narrowly to selected groups, orremain unchanged? Please explain.

 

·         BCC already extends the right to request flexible working to all employees.

·         Regardless of length of service, grade etc, decisions regarding requests for flexible working  are looked at on an individual basis based on all the circumstances of the case , i.e., the nature of the job in question, the nature of the request made and the needs of the business,  with a view to reaching mutual agreement

 

Q2.    Is it appropriate to move towards a model imposing a duty on employers to deal with requests reasonably, supported by a Code of Practice and guidance rather than, as at present, requiring a statutory series of steps to deal with requests?  How might this work?

 

·         A code of practice and guidance would be a welcome addition to t statutory provisions. It could place an emphasis on the need to be reasonable in considering these requests, as opposed to simply satisfying a statutory exercise. This would help organisations to communicate to managers the need to give detailed consideration to every request and to be creative in reaching a mutually acceptable solution with the employee.

 

·         It would also be helpful if the guidance placed an emphasis on the need for the employee also  to be flexible and to work collaboratively with his or her manager to agree a solution.

 

 

         Part IV: General

 

         Q1.          Having read the impact assessment, please detail any potential impacts that you believe require further consideration.

 

·         Para 4.15 - It might be helpful to consider additional entitlement to time off for ante-natal appointments for partners in circumstances where complications in pregnancy are identified in the ante-natal period.

 

         Q2.          Are particular impacts likely to be experienced by small employers and, if so, what steps canbe taken to minimise them?

 

           

Q3.        Please provideany othercomments thatmight aidthe consultation processas awhole.

 

·         It is noted that any decision on the attendance of others at ante natal appointments should rest with the mother.  (para 3.14 ) .  Perhaps this principle be applied across all key areas of the provision to avoid instances where mothers’ or key adopters’ wishes, regarding the involvement of fathers or partners, change?”

 

            The Committee approved the draft response.

 

            The Committee agreed that items 5(c) Retirement of Town Solicitor and Assistant Chief Executive and 5(d) Local Government Reform – Appointment of Chief Executive Posts be considered at the end of the meeting.