Family-friendly rights: key differences in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Updating authors: Jo Broadbent, Hogan Lovells, consultant editor (Scotland): Gillian MacLellan, consultant editor (Northern Ireland): Gareth Walls
Future developments
Scotland: There are no future developments specific to Scotland.
Parental bereavement leave and pay (Northern Ireland): The Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 provides for parental bereavement leave and pay in Northern Ireland (see below). The Act also extends the parental bereavement leave and pay provisions to those who experience miscarriage. However, the Act requires implementing Regulations to be made for parental bereavement leave and pay entitlement to apply to miscarriages no later than 6 April 2026.
On 24 October 2022, the Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland published a Miscarriage leave and pay consultation. The consultation sets out a proposal to extend the entitlement to parental bereavement leave and pay to qualifying bereaved parents who experience a miscarriage up to the end of 23 weeks of pregnancy. The consultation also proposes to remove the requirement for 26-weeks' continuous employment to qualify for statutory parental bereavement pay (for bereaved parents who experience a miscarriage, stillbirth or death of a child) thereby making statutory parental bereavement pay a day one right. The consultation closed on 19 December 2022. In its description of next steps, the Department has stated that an "analysis of responses to the consultation will now be undertaken and a formal Departmental response paper prepared in due course".
The "Good Jobs" Employment Rights Bill (Northern Ireland): On 1 July 2024, the Department for the Economy launched a consultation: The "Good Jobs" Employment Rights Bill. The consultation seeks views on proposals aimed at "strengthening employment legislation" which may progress under an Employment Bill and supporting secondary legislation, and that would give:
- eligible employees whose baby enters neonatal care for at least seven continuous days within 28 days of birth a day-one right to neonatal care leave and/or pay;
- an additional period of redundancy protection for pregnant employees and returners from family leave; and
- fathers/partners an entitlement to take paternity leave at any point in the first year of birth or adoption and to choose whether to take the leave in a single period of two weeks or two periods of one week.
The consultation closed on 30 September 2024.
The Employment Rights Bill, which was introduced to the UK Parliament on 10 October 2024, does not extend to Northern Ireland.
