Time off for ante-natal appointments

From 1 October 2014, an employee or agency worker (e.g. a father) can take time off from work to attend two ante-natal appointments with a pregnant woman (e.g. the mother of his expected child). The employee or agency worker can take up to 6 ½ hours off from work for each appointment.

However, certain agency workers are not entitled to take time off from work for ante-natal appointments, e.g. an agency worker who has not worked in the same role with the same hirer for 12 continuous weeks.

For further information, see section 127(1) of the Children and Families Act 2014.

Flexible working extended to all employees

From 30 June 2014, the right to request flexible working (FW) will be extended to all employees who have been continuously employed for a period of at least 26 weeks.

A FW request will be taken as being made on the day on which the request was sent electronically to an employer - where the employer has an electronic form for FW requests - and has specified an electronic address to which the completed form can be sent. A FW request will be taken as being made on the day of delivery if the request was delivered personally.

The statutory procedure for considering a FW request is expected to be abolished on 30 June 2014. However, paragraph 13 of the draft ACAS Code of Practice states that an employer must consider and decide the outcome of a request for FW (including any appeals) - within a three-month period from the receipt of the request - unless the employer and the employee agree to extend the period.

The ACAS is expected to publish a guide and a Code of Practice on considering a request for FW in a reasonable manner.

Source: Flexible Working Regulations 2014 (SI 2014/1398)