On 1 July 2025, the government launched a review of statutory family-related leave, The review is expected to run for 18 months, after which the government will produce a roadmap setting out next steps for potential reform of the law in this area.
Scope of review
This review applies to England, Scotland and Wales only (as employment law is a devolved issue in Northern Ireland).
All current and upcoming parental leave and pay entitlements are in scope, i.e.
- Maternity leave and pay
- Paternity leave and pay
- Adoption leave and pay
- Shared parental leave and pay
- Parental bereavement leave and pay
- Parental leave (unpaid)
- Neonatal care leave and pay
- Maternity Allowance
- Bereaved partner's paternity leave (unpaid) – which is in development and intended to be brought into force in 2026
The terms of reference specify that the broad scope of the review does not presuppose that reforms will be made to all entitlements. Rather, their inclusion is necessary to enable a comprehensive review of the family leave system as a whole. The intention is to ensure that any changes deliver improvements for working families, and there is scope to consider additional needs that may not be covered by existing entitlements, such as those of kinship carers and self-employed parents.
Objectives
As noted in the terms of reference, the current system of family-related leave entitlements was developed on a piecemeal basis to support individual groups as needs emerged and it has therefore not been informed by an overarching set of objectives. The government will therefore consider the current system and possible reforms against four objectives:
- Maternal health – supporting women's physical and mental health, recovery and wellbeing during and after pregnancy by giving them sufficient time off work with an appropriate level of pay
- Economic growth – enabling more parents to remain in work and develop their careers, improve the gender pay gap, reduce the 'motherhood penalty', and harness benefits for employers
- Best start in life – ensure sufficient resources and time away from work to support new parents and facilitate the best start in life for their children
- Childcare – support parents to make balanced childcare choices, with flexibility to reflect the realities of modern work and childcare needs
The review will also focus on ensuring fairness between parents within a family, different types of parents, and different employment statuses, as well as balancing costs and benefits to businesses and the exchequer (including simplifying the processes around parental leave), and improving society.
Call for evidence
The government has issued an open call for evidence to inform the work of the review. It aims to gather input and evidence to better understand the impact of the current system, and to test how current entitlements are operating in relation to the government's objectives as described above. It also seeks to assess whether those are the right objectives, noting that there is scope to refine them during the review in order to best meet the needs of working parents.
What does this mean for employers?
As noted above, the government has indicated an openness to consider simplification of the processes around family leave entitlements, which would be of benefit to employers. In order to encourage this, employers may wish to contribute to the call for evidence regarding the operation of the current family-related leave system and its impact on their organisation.
Employers will be aware that the Employment Rights Bill already includes changes to some family-related leave entitlements:
- Making paternity leave and unpaid parental leave 'day one' rights (anticipated to take effect from April 2026)
- Allowing paternity leave to be taken after shared parental leave (also anticipated to take effect from April 2026)
- Providing protection from dismissal for pregnant women and new mothers (anticipated to take effect during 2027)
This review flags the possibility of more far-reaching reforms in the longer term.
