Mayor Cllr Brenda Stevenson has welcomed the NI Assembly’s introduction of new legislation for working parents that will allow leave and pay entitlements to be shared following the birth or adoption of a child.
Welcoming the Bill, Mayor Stevenson said she was delighted the Assembly acknowledged the enormous pressures facing families and need for more flexible arrangements to be put into place to assist working parents.
“This Bill also includes a wide extension of the right to request flexible working to create a new system of shared parental leave and pay which will allow eligible working families to have more choice about how they balance their work and caring commitments. I am delighted that parents will now be able to choose to be at home together or to work at different times and share the care of their child.
“It is important that the right support is made available to families and that the Government recognises the pressures around work and family. The Bill is also significant in that it promotes gender equality within the workplace and wider society. I fully support the legislation and hope that it will help many families in the Derry and North West region to achieve a healthy work and home life balance,” she concluded.
Details of the changes to be implemented are set out in the Department’s response to public consultation on these issues, published on 14 April 2014, which can be downloaded from the DELNI website. http://www.delni.gov.uk/working-parents-rights Subject to the Bill receiving Royal Assent, regulations will allow for the new rights to be applied from April 2015.
