Pictured above: Sally Morris

With changes to UK paternity laws only weeks away, a leading Midlands employment lawyer has warned the region's firms to be ready and prepared.

The warning comes from Sally Morris, head of the employment division at Midlands-based law firm MFG Solicitors. She is urging businesses across the region that the complex Paternity Leave Regulations, which come into force on 3rd April, could cause long-term human resource issues if they aren't understood and implemented correctly. 

The Regulations, part of the Work & Families Act, give fathers of children due on or after 3rd April 2011 the right to take up to six months paternity leave, in addition to their existing two week entitlement. However, new dads will only be able to take additional leave if the mother has returned to work, and even then not before the baby is 20 weeks old. 

Ms Morris said: "For many businesses across the Midlands the new Paternity Leave Regulations have slowly crept up and are now only weeks away from being introduced.

There are numerous complexities to the regulations and most employers will have already made changes to their policies in preparation. However, it's clear there are still countless firms across the region who haven't fully got to grips with the new rules. It's vital they take necessary advice and act fast to familiarise themselves with the new regulations. 

For things to run smoothly human resource professionals will be important cogs in the wheel as it will be them who take the essential legal advice, implement the necessary changes and work closely with those employees intending to take the extra leave."

Ms Morris added: "It will take time for the new regulations to settle down and there will inevitably be administrative burdens to deal with - along with the element of the 'unknown'. But businesses in the Midlands have no time for inertia, only time to consult, plan and prepare."

The Government's latest statistics claim that up to 10,000 fathers may take up the new paternity leave rights each year. In a recent speech, the Deputy Prime Minister described the current paternity system as "Edwardian" and insisted that many parents felt "trapped" by the current rules.

As part of the new Paternity Regulations, additional paternity leave will be available to employees if:

• You are the father of a child due on or after 3rd April

• Your partner is pregnant and due to give birth on or after 3rd April

• You and your partner receive notification that you are matched with a child for adoption on or after 3rd April

• The child's mother is entitled to statutory maternity leave