New rights for fathers and adoptive parents

Wednesday, June 5, 2002

New rights for fathers and adoptive parents to paid time off, an extension of paid and unpaid leave for new mothers, and a right for the parents of young children to ask for flexible working conditions, are set out in the Employment Bill being debated in Northern Ireland. The Assembly's employment and learning minister, Carmel Hanna, said the world of work needed to react to the needs of the modern economy and of working parents. She said there would be costs to employers in setting up and administering new arrangements and in facilitating requests for flexible working. 'However, there will be advantages for employers too, with reduced recruitment and retraining costs,' she said.