Shared Parental Leave and Pay (Bereavement) Bill 2023-24 [formerly the Shared Parental Leave and Pay (Bereavement) Bill]: Progress

The Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Bill 2023-24 is a Private Member’s Bill, Bill 19 of the 2023-24 session. It is sponsored by Labour MP Chris Elmore who came second in the Private Members’ Bill ballot for the 2023-24 session.

The Bill was originally titled the Shared Parental Leave and Pay (Bereavement) Bill 2023-24. It was renamed following amendment at committee stage.

The Bill had its first reading on 6 December 2023 and passed second reading on 26 January 2024. The Bill completed its committee stage on 20 March 2024. It is listed for remaining stages on Friday 26 April 2024.

Background

Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) allow the birth parent (or adopting parent) to curtail the amount of Maternity Leave and Statutory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance (or Statutory Adoption Leave and Pay) that they would have been eligible for, and instead transfer that balance to the other parent.

As noted in guidance from the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas), in order to be eligible to receive SPL or ShPP, someone must have been continuously employed by the same employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15^th week before the baby’s due date.

In cases where the birth parent dies in childbirth or soon afterwards, the entire remaining SPL or ShPP balance can be taken by the surviving parent. However, they must still meet the continuity of employment test to do so.

Likewise, paternity leave and pay is available to the father or the partner of the mother of a child, but only in cases where they meet the same continuity of employment test. Paternity leave is up to two weeks.

Parliamentary interest

In November 2022 a case was reported in the media of a man from Nottinghamshire who found he was not eligible for SPL or ShPP after he had recently changed jobs before his wife died in childbirth. He had taken the issue to his MP, Darren Henry (Con), who had raised it in Parliament.

On 20 December 2022 Darren Henry introduced a Private Member’s Bill, the Shared Parental Leave and Pay (Bereavement) Bill, under the Ten Minute Rule, to remove the qualifying period of employment in cases where the birth or adopting parent had died. The Bill did not receive a second reading.

On 6 December 2023 there was a Westminster Hall Debate on fatalities in childbirth and statutory leave and pay, opened by Darren Henry MP. A cross-party selection of MPs spoke in favour of extending eligibility to parental leave in cases where partners had died in childbirth.

Responding for the Government, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Kevin Hollinrake, expressed sympathies for parents in such situations but also noted that the number of people denied access to SPL due to the continuity of employment test would be very small, anticipating this would be “around 10 per annum”.

What does the Bill do?

The Bill would make changes to the Employment Rights Act 1996, removing the continuity of employment test for the surviving partner to take Paternity Leave in the case where a child’s mother (or adopting parents) dies.

In such cases where a child’s mother dies, the Bill would also allow the surviving parent to take Paternity Leave even if they have already taken Shared Parental Leave, despite that usually not being permitted.

This Bill would only affect Paternity Leave and not Statutory Paternity Pay.

Such changes would, if made, mean that access to Paternity Leave became a day one right for partners of a mother who has died, with no continuity of employment test. However, all the usual tests would continue to apply for Paternity Pay.

Parliamentary progress

The Bill passed second reading with cross-party support on 26 January 2024. There was a Motion passed in the Commons on 5 March giving instructions to the Public Bill Committee allowing the scope of the Bill to be altered. In Public Bill Committee on 20 March, at the suggestion of the Bill’s sponsor Chris Elmore, the committee voted against clauses 1 and 2, removing them from the Bill and instead inserted a new clause 1, along with several other amendments.

This changed the nature of the Bill from being about extending eligibility of Shared Parental Leave in case of maternal bereavement, to being about extending eligibility of Paternity Leave in cases of bereavement. Consequential amendments also changed the long and short title of the Bill to match this change.