Work and Families Bill

I beg to move amendment No. 1, in page 20, line 9, at end insert— 1A In section 106 of ERA 1996 (replacements) in subsection (2)(a) after "adoption leave" insert "or leave under section 80AA or 80BB (additional paternity leave)".'. This amendment will support employers in managing the new entitlement to additional paternity leave. The Government recognise that employers are concerned about their position when they take on a new employee to cover a woman's absence on maternity leave. Those concerns were raised on Second Reading. They were also discussed in Committee during debate on an amendment tabled by the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb). We recognise that the same issues will be of concern to employers taking on new staff to cover an absence due to additional paternity leave. An employee with 52 weeks' service is, of course, protected from being unfairly dismissed. It is right that employees are protected in that way; the Government reduced the qualifying service from two years to one in 1999. However, we recognise that it is also right that we make the management of maternity, adoption and additional paternity leave as straightforward as we can for employers, and that includes making the management of employees they take on to cover maternity, adoption or additional paternity leave as straightforward as we can. Section 106 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 provides that where an employee is taken on to cover an absence caused by pregnancy, childbirth or adoption leave and is dismissed because the original employee returns from the absence, they will be treated as having been dismissed for a substantial reason which would mean that the dismissal was not unfair, provided that the employer had acted reasonably. Section 106 is intended to protect employers who take on employees to cover maternity or adoption leave. It enables them to dismiss the replacement employee when the original employee returns from leave. The replacement employee is also protected since section 106 applies only where the replacement was informed in writing when they were appointed that their employment would be terminated when the original employee returned to work, and the dismissal will be fair only if the employer acted reasonably and fairly and followed proper procedures in carrying out the dismissal. 18 Jan 2006 : Column 889 As well as maternity and adoption leave, section 106 includes replacements taken on to cover maternity or medical suspensions and other absence caused by pregnancy.