9. Rights to time off work for working parents and carers 


This Chapter sets out the rights available to working parents and carers. 


The statutory payments to parents and carers when they take leave linked to childbirth, maternity and adoption, such as statutory maternity, shared parental and paternity pay, normally increase every year in April, in line with the consumer price index (CPI). However, since CPI fell by 0.1% in the year to September 2015, there was no increase in the weekly rate in April 2016 for the year 2016-17. 


The current weekly rate of these payments remains fixed at £139.58, or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is the lower. To qualify for these statutory payments, the employee’s average earnings must equal or exceed the Lower Earnings Limit, which is also frozen for 2016-17 at £112 a week.