Welcome to our summer newsletter. Inside this month you will find an article discussing some of the reasons why employers must give their employees time off work. Annual leave, maternity and paternity leave are considered. The government’s Work and Families Bill also includes proposals to extend employee’s rights in some of these areas, including:

• an extension to both statutory maternity pay and maternity allowance to nine months from 1 April 2007. The aim is to move to 12 months entitlement by the end of this parliament, including extending eligibility for additional maternity leave
• the introduction of new paternity leave for fathers, enabling them to benefit from leave and statutory pay if the mother returns to work after six months but before the end of her maternity leave period
• the introduction of ‘keeping in touch’ days. Where employees and employers agree, a woman on maternity leave would be able go into work for a few days, without losing her right to maternity leave or a week’s statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance
• an extension to the period of notice for return from maternity and adoption leave from 28 days to two months.