Employees' Rights (Hansard, 7 May 1996)

§ Mr. Jonathan Evans

The Lord Chancellor is responsible for four executive agencies. For the Lord Chancellor's Department, the Court Service and the Public Trust Office, the information is set out in the table. I have asked the chief executives of the Land Registry and of the Public Record Office to reply separately.

Scheme	Provision available	Criteria used to judge eligibility
(a) Maternity leave	(i) 14 weeks statutory maternity leave, retaining right to return to same job;	(i) available to all staff, regardless of status, subject to proper notification and the provision of a maternity certificate;
	(ii) 18 weeks, combination of statutory maternity leave and unpaid special leave, with right to return to work on no less favourable terms and conditions of employment than held before absence;	(ii) must qualify for statutory maternity pay (see below);

Scheme	Provision available	Criteria used to judge eligibility
	(iii) 14 weeks paid maternity leave plus unpaid maternity leave up to total maximum absence of 52 weeks from the date maternity leave begins, with right to return to work on no less favourable terms and conditions than held before absence.	(iii) must be in paid service at the time the leave begins and have rendered at least one year's such service overall; must not be employed on a casual, standby or short notice basis or on a fixed term contract of less than two years; must give a written undertaking of intention to return to work after maternity leave and produce a maternity certificate;
	(iv) additional paid or unpaid special leave may be granted.	(iv) on written application, at personnel officer's discretion, dependant upon individual circumstances
(b) Maternity Pay	(i) 18 weeks statutory maternity pay; first 6 weeks at 90 per cent, of average weekly earnings in the eight weeks prior, 12 weeks at the set rate, currently £54.55;	(i) must have 40 weeks service by the expected date of childbirth; have average weekly earnings of not less than the lower earnings limit for the payment of National Insurance contributions; still be pregnant by the 11th week before the expected week of childbirth, or have given birth by this time; must provide proper notification and produce a maternity certificate.
	(ii) 14 weeks at full pay, and notional statutory maternity pay where appropriate.	(ii) as for paid maternity leave above.
(c) Paternity leave	Two days paid special leave, either at the time of birth or in the following weeks.	Available on written application
	An additional five days paid special leave if exceptional or unforeseen domestic difficulties arise at the time of birth or immediately afterwards, (see also parental leave below)	Available at local management discretion, dependant upon individual circumstances
(d) Parental leave	for adoptive mothers, up to 20 days special leave with pay plus unpaid leave up to a maximum absence of 52 weeks;	Available on written application
	if a woman does not exhaust her entitlement to unpaid maternity leave, the balance of leave is taken into account when considering a later application for unpaid special leave for childcare purposes, either from the woman	Available at personnel officer's discretion, dependant upon individual circumstances

Scheme	Provision available	Criteria used to judge eligibility
	or her spouse if he is also employed by the Department civil service.
(e) Flexible working hours	Flexible working hours arrangements may be introduced or revised in any office.	Dependant upon discussion between staff and line-management and their trade union representative at local level.
(f) Part time work (g) Job sharing	Anyone can apply to work part-time or to job-share.	Available at local management and personnel officer's discretion, dependant upon individual circumstances
(h) Leave to care for sick children	Up to five days special leave with pay in any one year may be granted locally;	Available on written application at local management discretion, dependant upon individual circumstances
	Additional paid and/or unpaid special leave and/or career break may be made available if this appears justified in the particular circumstances.	Available at personnel officer's discretion, dependant upon individual circumstances.
(i) Home working	The Department does not specifically recruit staff to work at home on a permanent basis. Available as a temporary measure.	Available at local management and personnel officer's discretion, dependant upon individual circumstances
(j) Term-time contracts (k) Annual hours contracts	Contracts are not offered although existing staff may apply for annual hours and term-time contracts	Available at personnel officer's discretion, dependant upon individual circumstances
(l) Workplace nurseries	44 nursery day care places are available for children under five; and approximately 75 playscheme places for children five to 12 years old which are used during the main school holidays.	Waiting lists are maintained where the Department cannot meet the demand for places at a new or existing nursery venture. In allocating places, the Department observes the Equal Opportunities Commission's "Good Practice Guide", as recommended by the Cabinet Office in January 1992.
		Generally, playscheme places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis but occasionally preference is given to "essential" staff whose skills and experience are particularly needed by the Department.
	(m) Childcare None allowances	N/A

Scheme	Provision available	Criteria used to judge eligibility
(n) Carer's leave	Up to five days special leave with pay in any one year may be granted; Additional paid and/or unpaid special leave	Available on written application at local management discretion, dependant upon individual circumstances
	and/or career break may be made available if this appears justified in the particular circumstances.	Available at personnel officer's discretion, dependant upon individual circumstances
(o) Career	Staff who have successfully completed their probationary period.	Must have a good record of attendance and performance. Available at personnel officer's discretion, dependant upon individual circumstances

Letter from John Manthorpe to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 7 May 1996:

I have been asked by the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, to reply to your recent question on the provision and eligibility criteria of a number of conditions of service. I can supply the following information:

Employees of HM Land Registry may benefit from the following provisions under the agency's conditions of service. Eligibility criteria, where applicable, are shown in the text:—

(a) Maternity Leave:

(i) Irrespective of an individual's length of service, a minimum of 14 weeks maternity leave is allowed.
(ii) Paid maternity leave of 3 months and 1 week is allowed where the individual:—

—states their intention to return to work for a minimum period of 4 weeks;
— undertakes to repay maternity pay, less statutory Maternity Pay, if she fails to return;
— is in paid service with the agency when she starts maternity leave, and has given at least one year's such service;
— is not employed on a casual basis, and
— is not employed on a fixed term contract of less than 2 years.

(iii) The earliest date from which the period of paid maternity leave can commence is the beginning of the 11th week before the expected week of confinement.
(iv) Unpaid maternity leave may be granted up to a further 41 weeks starting with the week in which the baby is born, to a maximum possible absence of 52 weeks (11 weeks prior to the expected date of confinement plus 41 weeks maximum unpaid leave).

(b) Maternity Pay:

Staff who qualify for paid maternity leave under item (a) (ii) above receive their normal rate of pay for the period concerned. In other circumstances statutory maternity pay is payable.

(c) Paternity Leave:

Fathers are entitled to two days paid paternity leave, which may be taken at the time of the birth or during the weeks following (eg when the mother leaves hospital.) Paternity leave cannot, however, be paid during periods of unpaid absence.

(d) Parental Leave:

Paid special leave of up to one week may be granted to assist staff in coping with unforeseen short term domestic problems, including the care of a child. Unpaid special leave for longer periods may also be granted. All applications for special leave are considered sympathetically in light of the circumstances.

(e) Flexible Working Hours:

Staff have the option to work flexible working hours subject only to very limited shift-working requirements. There are no specific criteria, save that a small minority of staff may be excluded for disciplinary reasons.

(f) Part-time Work:

The agency allows part-time working wherever possible. a minimum of 16 hours per week is encouraged. No specific criteria apply other than the need to have regard to the existing working patterns in order to avoid operational difficulties. Staff are able to opt for a wide range of working patterns, such as whole or part days, or combination of whole or part days.

(g) Job Sharing:

The agency provides opportunities for full-time posts to be shared by two employees. There are no specific criteria and no posts are automatically excluded. The agency will require to be satisfied that the arrangements in each case will meet operational requirements, and part-time working might offer a suitable alternative in the event of difficulty.

(h) leave to Care for Sick Children:

Paid special leave of up to one week may be granted for short term care of sick children, in order to provide initial assistance in relation to unforeseen circumstances. Unpaid nursing leave may be granted for longer periods. All applications for special leave are considered sympathetically in light of the circumstances.

(l) Home Working:

The agency does not operate home working except on an occasional, short term basis, to assist individual staff as part of their recuperation from injury or ailment.

(j) Term-time Contracts:

The agency considers requests for term-time working under its part-time working arrangements. Requests are accommodated by the granting of unpaid leave of absence during school holidays. Such requests are met wherever operational circumstances allow.

(k) Annual Hours Contracts:

The agency has no current provisions for annual hours contracts.

(l) Workplace Nurseries:

Two offices have workplace nurseries, each of which caters for up to 40 children aged from 6 weeks to 5 years. Staff at a third office have access to an interdepartmental nursery led by the Home Office, catering for a similar age range. All staff employed by the Agency at these locations are eligible to play for a nursery place for their child(ren). The agency also has holiday playschemes at 18 offices.

(m) Childcare Allowances:

The agency does not operate a system of childcare allowances. The running costs of nursery places are subsidised and the user parents pay a reduced fee.

(n) Carer's Leave:

Unpaid special leave may be granted to care for elderly or infirm relatives, dependants or partners, or where heavy domestic responsibilities have been borne for a long time. All applications for special leave are considered sympathetically in light of the circumstances.

(o) Career Breaks:

The agency operates a career break scheme, offering unpaid special leave for up to 5 years, with an option to extend for a further 2 years in appropriate circumstances. The scheme is intended to help staff deal with caring responsibilities or where an individual's health has suffered as a result of past responsibilities. In order to take a career break under the scheme staff must:

—be a permanent member of staff;
—have one year's paid service of 16 or more hours per week, and—
—have a satisfactory work performance and a satisfactory attendance, conduct and health record.

A 'keeping-in-touch' scheme operates in tandem with the career break scheme for those who wish to participate.

Letter from Duncan Simpson to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 7 May 1996:

In the absence of the Chief Executive, who is away from the Office on official business, I have been asked by the Lord Chancellor's Parliamentary Secretary to reply for the Pubic Record Office to your question about the provision available to employees in the agencies for which he is responsible.

The provision available to employees of the Public Record Office, with the criteria used to judge eligibility, is:

(a) Maternity leave

Established staff and fixed term appointees are entitled to three months and one week paid maternity leave providing they
1. intend to return to work
2. have worked one year (in the past three) and
3. are currently working.
A further period of unpaid leave up to a combined total of 52 weeks is available.
Limited period appointees are not eligible.

(b) Maternity pay

Established staff and fixed term appointees are entitled to normal salary for three months and one week and to 18 weeks Statutory Maternity Pay.
Limited period appointees who have worked continuously for at least 26 weeks and continue into the 15th week prior to the expected week of confinement may be eligible for 18 weeks of Statutory Maternity Pay, at the discretion of management.

(c) Paternity leave

Established staff and fixed term appointees are entitled to 2 days paid paternity leave.

(d) Parental leave

Available to established staff and fixed term appointees, at the discretion of management.

(e) Flexible working hours

Available to established staff and fixed term appointees in appropriate posts.

(f) Part-time work

Available to all employees, subject to operational needs. It is also allowed to members of staff who return to work after a period of sick absence.

(g) Job sharing

Available to all employees, subject to operational needs.

(h) Leave to care for sick children

As for (d) above.

(i) Home working

Available at the discretion of management.

(j) Term-time contracts

Not used.

(k) Annual hours contracts

Not used.

Workplace nurseries

Not available.

Childcare allowances

Planned for introduction in 1996/97, subject to the availability of resources.

(n) Carer's leave

As for (d) above.

(o) Career break scheme

Unpaid leave up to 5 years is available for established employees at the discretion of management.