Recommendation 18

HM Government · verbatim extract Rejected

As announced in the Queen’s Speech, the Government intends to bring forward an Employment Bill which, amongst other things, will create a new statutory entitlement to Neonatal Leave and Pay for eligible parents. Drafting of this legislation is not a simple or straightforward process as the legislation required is complex as it will need to work alongside existing parental leave and pay entitlements. We also need to build IT systems which will enable employers to administer Statutory Neonatal Pay on behalf of Government. This development work will be done in conjunction with HR and Payroll providers who will need to make corresponding changes to software that they supply to employers. The Government has considered the Committee’s recommendation to implement a pilot scheme for Neonatal Leave and Pay, but we do not believe that this could be delivered 16 The impact of Covid-19 on maternity and parental leave: Government Response any sooner than the planned entitlement which would apply to all parents (subject to eligibility). A pilot scheme would still require legislation and we would still need to put regulations in place to ensure that parents are adequately protected from, for example, dismissal or unfair treatment as a result of taking time off work or seeking to take time off work. A pilot scheme would also need to ensure payment systems are in place to ensure that leave is paid. We therefore believe that the focus should be on implementing the full entitlement as part of our Employment Bill. The Government is providing funding to the neonatal charity Bliss to support families with babies that require neonatal care during the Covid-19 pandemic. This funding is part of the Government’s UK-wide £750 million package of support for the voluntary sector announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in April.