• An automatic entitlement to 26 weeks' additional maternity leave
• An increase in the notice required for an early return to work from 28 days to eight weeks
• Optional ˜keeping in touch' days enabling a parent to work for up to ten days without disrupting the leave
• The right for an employer to make ˜reasonable contact' with an employee during the leave period
• An end to the exemption that limits the right of employees to return from additional maternity/adoption leave if their employer has five employees or less.

The Governments ultimate intention is to increase statutory maternity pay (SMP) and statutory adoption pay (SAP) to 52 weeks  within the life of the current parliament.

The right to request flexible working, previously only available to the carer of a child under age six or a disabled child under age 18, will be extended to carers of adults. A ˜carer' will include a spouse, a partner or civil partner, a near relative (including a parent, parent-in-law, guardian, adult son or daughter, adult son-in-law or daughter-in-law, sibling, sibling-in-law, half-sibling, uncle, aunt, grandparent and the equivalent adoptive relatives and step-relatives), or someone who lives as part of the family at the same address.

This right, often referred to as ˜the right to flexible working' is, however, only a right to request flexible working. The right is for an employee to request a permanent variation to their contract in relation to:

• The hours they are required to work
• The time when they are required to work
• The place where they are required to work (i.e. from home or at any place of business of the employer)

The service qualification will remain at 26 weeks continuous service and employees will only be able to make one request to have their contract varied in any 12-month period. There are strict rules for making a request and, more importantly for employers, limited statutory grounds for refusing a request.

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