The Children and Families Act 2014

New parental rights and further improvements for working parents have been created through the Children and Families Act 2014 which became law on 13 March 2014.

The Act has introduced some new rights including the right for a partner to attend up to two antenatal or other appointments with the expectant mother, which applies from 1 October 2014, and the right to Shared Parental Leave (see Chapter 2), which comes into effect on 5 April 2015. This new right will allow both the parents of a child, or an adopting couple, to share time to look after their child in their first year.

This Chapter explains the new statutory rights and gives examples of best practice to assist those negotiating with employers over maternity leave and pay.