Two new pieces of legislation are likely to have a big impact on employers and parents over the next 18 months, according to Antoneta Fernandes, Employment solicitor at Fraser Brown. 

Both mothers and fathers will benefit from the changes, which are set to result in increased paternity leave and could lead to a rise in the level of maternity pay. However, there is concern that the legislation may place more burdens on employers. 

The Additional Paternity Leave Regulations 2010 come into force on 6 April 2010 will give fathers whose children are born (or adopted) after 3 April 2011 up to six months additional paternity leave. This allows them to take leave instead of the mother during the last three months of her allotted nine month maternity leave, and take an additional three months unpaid leave.

Additionally, recent draft proposals passed in the European Parliament mean that new mothers could soon be given five months of maternity leave on full pay, compared to the current situation of six weeks on 90% of average full pay and a statutory sum for the next 33 weeks.

If these new regulations are implemented they will have a large impact on employers, some of whom are already urging Ministers to veto the plans.

Antoneta Fernandes, Employment solicitor at Fraser Brown, said, "These are significant changes for both employers and employees. The additional paternity leave will require businesses to be much more flexible - a recent survey suggests one in five men would want to take the additional leave - and although the plans to increase maternity pay are only draft at this stage, it is likely that they too will be implemented in the not-too-distant future.

"The impacts will certainly be interesting and we will be monitoring how things progress closely. Some people are already worried that it could become harder for women of childbearing age to get jobs with employers who fear financial implications of the new regulations, but this in itself could raise discrimination issues."