THE government has no way of knowing whether employers are complying with family-friendly employment laws, the Social Security Minister has confirmed.
Addressing a panel of politicians yesterday, Deputy Lyndsay Feltham admitted that current legislation does not allow the government to collect data on whether businesses are meeting their statutory obligations to new parents.
“The legislation doesn’t provide for government to collect data and enforce it in that way,” she said.
“The only way that we would know whether people have concerns around compliance with their employer is if they have taken a claim to tribunal, because that’s the right of recourse that people have under the legislation.”
Asked whether there was any mechanism short of a tribunal to identify issues, Deputy Feltham said the Jersey Advisory and Conciliation Service (JACS) or trade unions might hold some relevant information – but confirmed that no system of routine monitoring currently exists.
“If we saw a big influx of tribunal claims, then that would give me cause for concern,” she added.
The comments came during a hearing of Family Friendly Post-Implementation Sub-Panel as part of its review of legislative changes introduced in 2018 and 2020.
These amendments including increasing the length of paid parental leave for both parents, and introducing paid absences for pregnant or breastfeeding islanders who are unable to work on health and safety grounds.
But concerns have been raised about how well those rights are understood and upheld in practice.
Deputy Feltham confirmed that a new parental rights leaflet is being introduced to help parents as part of efforts to promote better understanding about what people are entitled to.
The resource – which is set to be included in maternity packs given out at neonatal appointments – is designed to act as a checklist to guide parents through their rights and next steps.
Deputy Feltham said she would ask for the leaflet to be translated into other languages and made accessible for visually impaired Islanders, adding that she would also take the leaflet to the government’s Disability Advisory Group for feedback.
“I’m always very keen on ensuring that our output is inclusive as possible,” she said.
The minister also addressed calls to extend the length or amount of paid parental leave during the hearing.
Deputy Feltham said she personally supported the idea of allowing parents to spend more time at home, but confirmed there are no current plans to increase the 32-week maximum duration for parental allowance.
“My work plan is absolutely jam-packed, and we also don’t have any legislative drafting time available to make such plans,” she explained.
Deputy Feltham added that parental allowance is paid from the Social Security Fund, and said that any proposal to extend it would need to be both affordable and sustainable.
She told the scrutiny panel: “If you are making recommendations around extending provisions, it would be incredibly helpful if you also make recommendations about how you think that could be achieved in striking that balance between supporting the economy but also doing things that are affordable, and how we might support that as well.”
Any changes to the law, she added, would ultimately need the support of the States Assembly.
