Neonatal leave and tips back on the agenda

When the Employment Bill was missing from the 2022 Queen’s Speech, we reported that the reforms it was expected to include had an uncertain future.

Two proposals, however, look to be back on the agenda – the right to neonatal leave and pay (which will potentially affect all employers) and the law on passing tips onto staff (which will affect restaurants and others in hospitality).

Both reforms have been introduced as Private Members' bills and had their second readings in Parliament on 15 July 2022. Crucially, BEIS has announced that both bills are backed by the Government, which makes it more likely that they will become law. 

• The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Bill proposes to support parents of premature or sick babies by providing one week's leave for each week that their baby is in neonatal care, up to 12 weeks. The leave would be tacked onto the end of an employee's maternity or paternity leave and paid at the usual statutory rate.
• The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Bill aims to stop unfair tipping practices by putting employers under a new legal obligation to pass all tips and service charges on to staff in full and by a deadline. There would also be new rules to ensure tips are fairly distributed among staff.

Each clause of the two bills will now be examined in detail by the Public Bills Committee, before progressing to the final stages.

We will have to wait to see whether any of the other Employment Bill reforms will be introduced by MPs in a similar way.