COMMENT
Work and Families Act 2006 c. 18

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Work and Families Act 2006 c. 18 (Note)

These notes refer to the Work and Families Act 200 (c.18) which received Royal Assent on 21 June 2006.

WORK AND FAMILIES ACT

EXPLANATORY NOTES

INTRODUCTION

1. These explanatory notes relate to the Work and Families Act 2006 which received Royal Assent on 21 June 2006. They have been prepared by the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department for Work and Pensions in order to assist the reader in understanding the Act. They do not form part of the Act and have not been endorsed by Parliament.

2. The notes need to be read in conjunction with the Act. They are not, and are not meant to be, a comprehensive description of the Act. So where a section or part of a section does not seem to require any explanation or comment, none is given.

SUMMARY

3. The Act's main purposes are to:

extend the maximum period that may be prescribed in regulations as the period for which statutory maternity pay, maternity allowance and statutory adoption pay are payable from 26 weeks to 52 weeks;

introduce a new scheme that will provide certain employees (generally fathers) with a new entitlement to take leave to care for a child and a new entitlement to receive pay while they are on leave, if certain conditions are met;

widen the scope of the existing law on flexible working to enable more people with caring responsibilities to request to work flexibly;

provide a new power to increase on one occasion the maximum amount of a week's pay which may be taken into account in the calculation of certain payments (for example, redundancy payments);

provide a new power to make provision about annual leave.

BACKGROUND

4. In December 2004, alongside the Pre-Budget Report, the Government published the document, "Choice for parents, the best start for children: a ten year strategy for childcare". This set out key principles informing Government policy in the area of work and families: to ensure every child gets the...

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