Hundreds of working parents stand to benefit from new rights to more maternity and paternity leave when the legislation comes into play in September.

The new act will mean some women will now be entitled to one year's maternity leave.

Ms Newby, a director of Simcocks Advocates, said her firm was dealing with a number of inquiries from employers needing advice on how the new legislation will affect their business.

She expects more inquiries from employees who want to make sure the new entitlements to maternity and paternity leave are adhered to by their employers.

Ms Newby noted that the rights conferred by the 2006 Act and the regulations made under it were not in substitution for employment rights that arise under the employee's contract of employment.

'The employee does not have to choose between them and the contractual rights cannot modify or alter the statutory rights save in the context of adding to them.'

Some of the key points of the new Act are:

*An employee is entitled to 26 weeks' maternity leave (called ordinary maternity leave) if she has worked for the company for 26 weeks. She is entitled to a further 26 weeks (called additional maternity leave) giving a total entitlement of 52 weeks. All this leave will be unpaid although expectant mothers may be entitled to claim Maternity Allowance of £159 a week for 26 weeks.

*A member of staff on maternity leave will benefit from all the terms and conditions of employment that she would have received if she hadn't been absent.

*A woman can return to the job in which she was employed or one that is suitable and appropriate.

*On return seniority and pension rights must be intact.

In a bid to help parents balance their working and family life the Act also introduces the new concept of Family Leave.

An employee may be entitled to take up to 26 weeks off a year in certain circumstances.

All members of staff will be able to make a request for flexible working hours if they have a child under six years old, a disabled child under 18 years old or a dependant spouse.

Parents of a disabled child in certain circumstances will be entitled up to 18 weeks of parental leave and fathers will be entitled to two weeks' paternity leave.

Although maternity leave has been a common feature of employment contracts within the Island for very many years it is never been the subject of statutory rights save in the context of the right to return to work.

The right to ordinary and additional maternity leave is subject to the employee notifying her employer no later than the end of the fifteenth week before the expected week of childbirth or as soon as reasonably practicable that she is pregnant and when the expected week of childbirth will be.

Maternity leave, whether ordinary or additional, is a statutory right and not one out of which employers and employees can contract.

The only way in which the right to maternity leave can be lost is if an employee resigns or is dismissed before the date she has notified the employer or before she has notified a date, but should the reason for dismissal be connected with pregnancy or childbirth, dismissal will be automatically unfair and can be referred to the Employment Tribunal for an award of compensation.

There are two types of paternity leave, one arising on birth, the other on adoption.

In the case of paternity leave on birth the employee must have had 26 weeks' continuous service ending with the fifteenth week before the expected date of childbirth which continues up to the actual date of birth.

The period of paternity leave is either one week or two consecutive weeks but the leave cannot start until the baby has been born.

Again, like maternity leave, paternity leave is unpaid but the contract of employment continues. It can be taken at any time within 56 days of the actual date of birth but, again, the employee must notify the employer when the leave is to be taken.

Paternity adoption leave is very similar and again there is a qualification period of 26 weeks' continuous employment.
Adoption leave can be ordinary or additional. Every employee is entitled to ordinary adoption leave which is 26 weeks.

Additional adoption leave is another 26 weeks for which one would qualify with 26 weeks' continuous employment. As is the case with other leave, adoption leave, whether ordinary or additional, is unpaid but the contract of employment continues.

Again, there is the need to notify the employer of one's intentions.

The leave can only commence on the date on which the child is placed for adoption or such earlier date not more than 14 days before the date of placement provided the employee has notified the employer this is his or her wish.

The 2006 Act makes provision for parental leave for the purpose of caring for children.

However, the regulations to be put to Tynwald this month provide only for parental leave for the purpose of caring for a disabled child under the age of 18.

Whilst the Act also provides for regulations to be made for parental leave for the purpose of caring for children who are not disabled, no regulations have been made or are proposed at the present time.