With over one third of the UK’s workforce being of chid bearing age, the Government’s latest announcements regarding maternity leave have wide-reaching implications for businesses. From April 2007, maternity leave for women will be increased from six to nine months (with the intention that this rises to twelve months).
Companies need to be prepared for how they handle maternity leave and also how they cater for a woman’s legal right to flexible working hours on her return to work. Clearly, putting extra workload on colleagues isn’t a viable option and many companies are now looking to use temporary workers as a stop gap measure.
In the last 12 months in particular, we’ve seen a significant increase in requests for high calibre temporary and interim maternity cover. Temporary staff are a valuable resource. They can enable companies to fill a position - either full time or part time - whilst still leaving the job open for the employee to return to at the end of her maternity leave.
There’s a growing pool of talented individuals who thrive on the challenges presented by temporary contracts. Furthermore, some temporary workers fit into a company so well that often, at then end of the temporary contract, they’re offered permanent employment.
The new legislation has attempted to make it easier for companies concerned about maternity leave implications. An employee will have to give two months’ notice (as opposed to the current 28 days) if they intend to change their return to work date. This in itself will help companies manage interim workers.
Also introduced are ‘keep-in-touch-days’. These are intended to let an employee return to work for up to 10 days whilst on maternity leave. It is hoped that this will provide important time for the employee to work alongside the temporary worker.
Retaining employees following maternity leave is also critical, particularly at a time when skilled staff are in demand. Here are a few pointers on how to keep an employee on maternity leave feeling involved and how to smooth her transition back into the work place:
- Keep her updated about any changes within the business whilst on leave
- Ensure other employees are kept up-to-date as to when she is expected to return
- Give proper consideration to any request she might make to alter her working hours
- Make her feel welcome and consider whether anyone new has commenced employment who will not know her
- Offer refresher training, if appropriate
- Offer IT training if any new IT systems have been implemented
- Consider health and safety issues - carry out a health and safety assessment
- If an employee comes back when she is still breastfeeding, allow her reasonable time during the day to either express milk or feed her baby
And finally, whilst businesses gear up to cater for women’s maternity cover they mustn’t forget fathers. Proposals are in place to significantly increase their paternity leave too and as more employees look to change their work life balance, it’s anticipated that fathers will increasingly take up this right.
For further information contact Cliff Sewell or Philip Hill at Sewell Moorhouse – an independent and specialised accounting, financial and administrative recruitment consultancy, based in Sheffield, Doncaster and Leeds.
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