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Maternity, paternity and adoption

Find legislation and guidance on employee's rights and employer's responsibilities relating to maternity, paternity and adoption, including discrimination against those being pregnant or on maternity leave.
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Latest on maternity, paternity and adoption

Read our latest features and articles on maternity, paternity and adoption.
5 multi racial hands placed down on table
How to be a family-friendly employer
  • Article
  • 11 Oct 2024
Making it easy for your staff to juggle family commitment alongside their jobs will reap rewards. In this National Work Life Week, we offer tips on meaningful family-friendly strategies that should be on your radar.
Law changes on holiday pay process
  • Article
  • 17 Jan 2024
A recent court decision has prompted simplification of the rules governing holiday pay, particularly for workers with irregular hours.
Julia Penny’s vital lessons learned in business
  • Article
  • 16 Mar 2023
From losing her job straight after maternity leave to becoming President of ICAEW, Julia Penny reveals the business lessons picked up throughout her career in a CNBC interview.
New tools for planning shared parental leave
  • Article
  • 23 Jun 2021
HMRC has launched new online tools to help parents understand their eligibility for shared parental leave (SPL) and plan how to use it. ICAEW’s Tax Faculty explains how mums and adopters can opt in even if not sharing with a partner

Reports

Exclusive Special Report 52: People and skills
  • Report
  • 2016
  • PDF (4,295kb)
This quarterly report deals with recruiting and retaining the right staff with good practical tips and advice from a variety of specialists.
Exclusive Special Report 46: Growing your business
  • Report
  • 2014
  • PDF (1,487kb)
This report is primarily aimed at smaller businesses seeking to grow and develop and to achieve their full potential through practical guidance and advice.
Growing your business
  • Report
  • 2014
  • PDF (1,487kb)
This report is primarily aimed at smaller businesses seeking to grow and develop and to achieve their full potential through practical guidance and advice. Those seeking additional advice might care to make use of an ICAEW Chartered Accountant, who is best placed to offer guidance.
Exclusive SR42 Starting a Business
  • Report
  • 2013
  • PDF (932kb)
Many dream about starting their own business, but few have the courage, perseverance and the appropriate appetite for financial risk to be able to work for themselves

eBooks

The ICAEW Library & Information Service provides full text access to a selection of key business and reference eBooks from leading publishers. eBooks are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users. If you are unable to access an eBook, please see our Help and support advice or contact library@icaew.com.

Exclusive Maternity/paternity rights, Adoption leave and pay, flexible working for parents and carers
  • eBook chapter
  • 2016
  • Ewan McIntyre
  • Pearson
These sections of the chapter on employment law cover the rights of working parents including maternity and paternity leave and pay; shared parental leave and pay; adoption leave and pay, flexible working for carers and parents; time off for dependents; and the right to return to work after maternity leave.
Exclusive Working hours and holidays
  • eBook chapter
  • 2017
  • Barry Cushway
  • Kogan Page
This chapter looks at the Working Time Regulations 1998; annual holidays; parental leave; Sunday working; the employment of schoolchildren; and flexible working.
Exclusive Maternity and paternity
  • eBook chapter
  • 2017
  • Barry Cushaway
  • Kogan Page
This chapter of the handbook looks at the maternity and paternity rights applying to employees including: maternity, paternity and adoption pay; maternity, paternity and adoption leave; shared parental leave and pay; time off for antenatal care. Contains sample policies and letters.
Terms of use

You are permitted to access, download, copy, or print out content from eBooks for your own research or study only, subject to the terms of use set by our suppliers and any restrictions imposed by individual publishers. Please see individual supplier pages for full terms of use.

More HR eBooks

Business press

The ICAEW Library & Information Service provides access to leading business, finance and management journals. These journals are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users subject to suppliers' terms of use.
Exclusive Are workers more productive at home?
  • Article
  • 02 Jun 2022
  • Justin Fox
A conversation with Stanford economist Nick Bloom on a surprising find from the COVID-19 pandemic: remote work can lead to productivity gains and fuel economic growth. Bloom has been studying employee benefits and discovered that certain pro-work-life-balance policies (maternity leave, job sharing, part-time work and work from home) were positively correlated with good firm performance.
Exclusive Is lower pay for shared parental leave discrimination?
  • Article
  • 01 Dec 2020
An analysis of the decisions taken by the Court of Appeal in the joined appeals of Ali v Capita and Hextall v The Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police. The Court had to consider whether it is unlawful sex discrimination for an employer to pay a man taking shared parental leave less than a woman taking maternity leave. A judgement was made that differentiation between maternity pay and shared parental pay was neither direct nor indirect sex discrimination.
Exclusive Maintain your network: tips on returning to work after parental leave
  • Article
  • 27 Jan 2020
  • Rani Mehta
Four lawyers share tips on returning to the workforce after taking a break to raise a family.
Exclusive A working parent's survival guide
  • Article
  • 01 Jul 2019
  • Daisy Wademan Dowling
Techniques for reducing stress and successfully balancing your professional and family roles. The author recommends five powerful strategies: rehearse for transitions (including returning to work after parental leave), audit your commitments, communicate effectively, put losses into perspective, and recast your professional identity.
Exclusive It'll cost you...
  • Article
  • 01 Sep 2017
  • Emily Burt, Marianne Calnan, Jo Faragher
The article offers advice on legislation related to human resources (HR) compliance in Great Britain. Topics include dealing with discrimination law, the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment Regulations (TUPE) related to service provision, and flexible working regulations. Also noted are employment law related to religion, shared parental leave (SPL) regulations, and the need for written records of employee discipline and grievance procedures..
Exclusive Most employment rights 'indispensable', says businesses. Survey finds majority want to avoid post-Brexit 'bonfire'
  • Article
  • 01 Jun 2017
The article reports on the results of a survey to determine what laws employers feel are indispensable, despite Great Britain withdrawing from the European Union. It mentions unfair dismissal laws, minimum wage laws, as well as those laws regarding parental leave.
Exclusive The parenting factor
  • Article
  • 01 Feb 2017
  • Nicki Seignot
The article examines how companies can use mentoring to improve the talent among its employees and those it wishes to recruit or retain. Particular attention is given to the challenges associated with employee returning from parental leave and the transition process for these employees. To ensure talent is productive, it suggests mentoring that addresses the specific needs of employees..
Exclusive "Managers are scared of pregnancy. And that means we're losing talent".
  • Article
  • 01 May 2015
  • Robert Jeffery
Explores issues faced by women when taking maternity leave or transitioning back to the workplace and how BDO is rethinking its approach in order to retain female talent.

Articles and books in the ICAEW Library collection

The collection of the ICAEW Library & Information Service includes a range of articles, books and reports on maternity, paternity and adoption. Use the links below to see what we have available to request in our Library catalogue (Libcat).
Tolley's employment handbook, 2024
  • Library book
  • 2024
  • E.A. Slade and others
  • LexisNexis
This annual handbook provides practitioners with expert and up-to-date guidance on employment legislation and case decisions. The 2024 edition covers important recent developments such as the changes to the Working Time Regulations made in January 2024, and new legislation including the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023.
Employment law handbook
  • Library book
  • 2017
  • D.Barnett
  • The Law Society
A comprehensive overview of the main topics within employment law, in an easy-to-use format.
Drafting employment contracts
  • Library book
  • 2017
  • G.Howard
  • The Law Society
Providing practical and thorough coverage, this book is both a tool for drafting employment contracts and a guide for creating policies and executing them. The chapters contain example precedent letters, terms and conditions, policies and clauses related to employment contracts. Topics covered include absence and sick pay, maternity, paternity, adoptive and parental leave, disciplinary and performance procedures, redundancy, grievances, harassment, bullying and whistleblowing.
Employment law and pensions
  • Library book
  • 2016
  • D.Pollard
  • Bloomsbury Professional
Contains sections giving an overview of pensions provision in the UK, automatic enrolment, employers and pension obligations, unlawful discrimination and pensions (including sex discrimination and age discrimination), employment contracts, employer's powers and consultation, maternity and paternity rights and pensions, TUPE and pensions and cessation of employment and pensions.

To find out how you can borrow books from the Library please see our guide to borrowing books.

You can obtain copies of articles or extracts of books and reports through our document supply service.

External resources - Acas guidance

Advice, guidance and practical resources on a wide variety of recruitment topics for both employers and employees, produced by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, Acas. Acas is the employment relations service for England, Scotland and Wales offering practical, independent and impartial advice to employers, employees and their representatives.
Flexible working requests: Acas video
  • Website
Acas short video answering commonly asked questions by employers and employees regarding flexible working.
Maternity, paternity and adoption leave and pay
  • Website
Acas guidance on issues related to maternity and paternity leave and pay and the rights of adoptive parents.
Pregnancy and maternity discrimination
  • Website
Acas key guide offering an insight into how pregnancy and maternity discrimination can occur in the workplace, the employer's obligations and how it can be dealt with.
Shared Parental Leave and pay
  • Website
Acas guide to shared parental leave, covering steps to take and key considerations for both employees and employers.
Shared parental leave forms and templates for parents
  • Website
Forms and templates for eligible parents to take Shared Parental Leave (SPL). Free to download and use.
Terms of use

ICAEW accepts no responsibility for the content on any site to which a hypertext link from this site exists. The links are provided 'as is' with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them. Please see the full copyright and disclaimer notice.

External resources - Guidance and advice

Advice for Parents & Carers
  • Website
  • Working Families
The website of work-life balance organisation Working Families offers guidance for employees on pregnancy and maternity, paternity, shared parental leave, adoption, emergency, carers and parental leave
Guide to family friendly work
  • Website
  • Trades Union Congress
The TUC provides access to a useful selection of links to TUC and external resources on flexible working, time off to care for sick children and dependents, and maternity, paternity and adoption leave.
Maternity and paternity rights
  • Website
  • Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
Factsheets, webinars, Q and As, case law, and reports from the CIPD on maternity, paternity, adoption, parental leave and family friendly policies. Registration is required to view content.
Paths to parenthood: Navigating fertility at work - an employers guide
  • Website
  • Fawcett Society
A Fawcett Society study exploring how employers can better support women's careers and create fertility-friendly workplaces.
Statutory leave and time off
  • Website
  • HM Government
Collection of Government guidance on statutory leave and time off, including holiday entitlement, statutory sick pay, maternity, paternity and adoption leave and pay, time off for jury service and other public duties.
Statutory pay
  • Website
  • HMRC
Collection of guidance for employees and additional detailed guidance for employers covering Statutory Sick Pay, Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay, and penalties, disagreements and compromise agreements.
Statutory Payments Manual
  • Website
  • HMRC
HMRC internal manual giving guidance on Statutory Sick Pay, Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay.
Working families
  • Website
  • Working Families
Working Families is a leading UK work-life balance organisation. Its website provides information and resources on issues of flexible and family friendly working arrangements for parents and carers as well as for employers. The employers' section includes factsheets for line managers, a model flexible working policy and further guidance on paternity/maternity leave and pay, shared parental leave and homeworking.
Terms of use

ICAEW accepts no responsibility for the content on any site to which a hypertext link from this site exists. The links are provided 'as is' with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them. Please see the full copyright and disclaimer notice.

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