The Department for Economy has published its response to the 'Good Jobs' Employment Rights Bill consultation which includes proposed reforms promising new ways of working and extended leave that could change day-to-day life for many employees, while giving employers a fresh set of rules which will largely bring NI in line with Great Britain.
On 28 April, the new Minister for Economy, Dr Caiomhe Archibald, released the Department's summary of responses to the 'Good Jobs' Employment Rights Bill consultation, alongside its official response paper highlighting the proposals it now seeks to have agreed by the Executive and brought into law in Northern Ireland. We summarised the proposals here.
The recent outcome places a renewed emphasis on strong work-life balance measures that seek to transform family-friendly rights. These developments, forming part of Theme D of the consultation, propose a more modernised, inclusive environment for workers with caring responsibilities or growing families, offering expanded entitlements to flexible working, new leaves, and enhanced protections designed to help employees retain both professional security and personal well-being. Here, we consider the key proposals.
Enhancement of existing rights
Under the current employment framework in NI, certain minimum service requirements generally apply to family-friendly leave rights. However, the Department intends to create "day-one" entitlement for many of these rights, in keeping with the direction of travel in GB and following the high level of support from consultation respondents. The rationale is that, where caring or parenting responsibilities exist from the outset of employment, employees should not be inhibited by a qualifying service period. The consultation outcome demonstrates clear policy intent to provide immediate protection and support to new hires who are expecting a child, returning from parental leave, or stepping into a carer's role.
To help achieve these objectives, the Department proposes moving away from lengthy or duplicative processes for obtaining leave and associated pay. In practice, this may encourage employees to raise relevant requests at an earlier stage in the recruitment process and help businesses attract and retain talent.
Flexible Working: Day-one right and streamlined requests
Central to improving work-life balance is the Department's plan to make flexible working a "day-one right," removing the current 26-week qualifying period. Employees will be able to make two statutory flexible working requests in any 12-month period, provided a second request is not submitted while the first one remains unresolved. The requirement for employees to explain the potential impact of a request on the business and propose solutions is also set to be removed—although employers will still be entitled to refuse the request based on eight lawful grounds, provided they act reasonably.
The Department also plans to enhance the right to request flexible working, ensuring alignment with GB's Employment Rights Bill (once regulations have been released), which mandates that any refusal must be reasonable and explained in writing, while maintaining the existing eight business reasons for refusal.
Many employers already grant flexible working informally, but these statutory changes underscore the Department's commitment to embedding a genuine culture of flexibility. Businesses and HR teams will want to handle requests systematically, keeping records of decisions and rationales. They may also consider the broad economic benefits—improved productivity and retention, reduced absenteeism—that can flow from well-managed flexible work arrangements.
Paternity Leave: Greater flexibility for fathers and partners
Consultation feedback demonstrated wide support for granting fathers and partners more control over how, and when, to take their leave. The Department's proposals will make paternity leave a "day-one right," removing the existing 26-week qualifying period. In addition, paternity leave will be allowed in two separate one-week blocks, or taken as two consecutive weeks, at any time within the first 52 weeks after birth or adoption. To encourage uptake, the notice period to take leave will be reduced to 28 days from 15 weeks, although the overall 15-week notice of the 'expected week of confinement' (i.e. when the baby is expected to be born) will remain, allowing businesses to prepare in advance for absences.
Taking into account stakeholder requests to ensure broad alignment with the position in GB, the Department also intends to replicate the GB proposal to allow paternity leave and pay to be taken before or after a period of shared parental leave and pay.
The Department also states its plans to explore the costs and practicalities of increasing paternity leave from 2 to 4 weeks- and intends to seek the authority to extend leave and pay entitlements in the future, though any such change would be implemented separately from other current proposals due to necessary HMRC system updates.
New rights and forms of leave
Neonatal Care Leave and Pay: Supporting Parents of Newborns
One of the most transformative developments is the proposed introduction of additional leave and pay for eligible working parents of babies in neonatal care. This reform recognises the severe strain on new parents whose children are admitted to hospital shortly after birth and will apply from day one of employment. Eligible parents of babies admitted to neonatal care within the first 28 days of life, who receive at least seven continuous days of care, will be entitled to an additional week of neonatal care leave (and pay where applicable) for each such seven-day period, up to a maximum of 12 weeks.
The Department's response clarified that this new right is intended to replace any period of standard maternity or paternity leave which is essentially "lost" when a child is receiving neonatal care. Distinctions have also been drawn between "Tier One" and "Tier Two" leave, with fathers or partners able to stop and start neonatal leave while a baby remains in hospital, and mothers typically expected to take neonatal care leave once the main period of maternity leave has ended. Significantly, the new right will be accompanied by clear protections against detriment or dismissal for those who request it, mirroring protections already established for other forms of statutory family leave.
Carer's Leave: Developing a Supportive Environment for unpaid carers
The 2021 Census estimated there to be over 220,000 unpaid carers in NI, 125,000 of whom are in employment. The number of carers is expected to rise with the ageing population. In recognition of this, the Department proposes to introduce a new statutory carer's leave right. As currently drafted, employees will be able to take one week of unpaid carer's leave per year to care for someone with a significant care requirement—often a spouse, partner, parent, child, or other dependant residing in the same household. This will mirror the position as currently stands in GB.
Though the new leave will initially be unpaid, policymakers have signalled a longer-term ambition to transition towards a paid entitlement if and when sufficient funding can be approved. Consultation responses emphasised the financial hardship that can fall on carers who reduce working hours to meet caring responsibilities.
Earlier this month, the University of Ulster Economic Policy Centre released a briefing paper estimating costs of implementing paid carer's leave, which vary significantly depending on the payment scenario and uptake rate, but is in the range of £6.2 million to £49.7 million, which would amount to a substantial annual recurring financial commitment by the Executive unless paid entitlement is also introduced in GB.
Officials are also working with HMRC to see how much time and money it would take to set up a new payment system for carers, as the usual weekly payments may not fit their needs and would require complicated changes. HMRC will only start this work after the Bill becomes law, likely in early 2027, and it will take at least two years. In the meantime, the Department will work to give carers equal rights as soon as possible and will gather more evidence to help shape future policy.
Enhanced redundancy protections for new and expectant Parents
The Department proposes key changes including extending redundancy protection from the point an employee notifies her employer of pregnancy, whether verbally or in writing, and covering employees returning from maternity, adoption, or shared parental leave. Employers would be required to offer suitable alternative roles in a redundancy situation to those in these protected categories, with the aim of preventing unfair treatment of employees at a vulnerable stage, returning to the workplace after a period of extended leave.
The protection period would last 18 months from the date of birth, expected birth, stillbirth, or adoption, providing employees with greater security and financial stability. While the Department recognises that smaller businesses may face challenges, it believes the benefits—such as improved morale and reduced disputes—outweigh the difficulties.
Significantly, the Employment Rights Bill in GB also gives the government powers to extend these protections to other dismissals and to other forms of family leave. The Department also states its intention to incorporate such enhanced rights to ensure parity with GB in this area. The Department will engage further with stakeholders before determining the specific level of protection that should available here, and any changes will be subject to additional impact assessments.
Preparing for change and implementation timelines
While the Department has outlined the key family-friendly reforms taking shape under Theme D, legislation will not be enacted overnight. As stated in "The Way Forward," potential commencement dates stretch into the latter half of the Assembly mandate, with a phased implementation tailored to give businesses time to adapt. Draft legislation is targeted for introduction in 2026, with final passage hoped for before the end of 2027. In the meantime, the Labour Relations Agency is tasked with helping prepare codes of practice, training, and explanatory guidance to support employers and employees.
Crucially, respondents to the consultation emphasised the importance of a measured approach, with detailed lead-in times and adequate guidance to help smaller businesses, in particular, plan for new statutory rights. The Department has acknowledged these concerns, promising further research and stakeholder engagement aimed at smoothing the transition.
The 'Good Jobs' Employment Rights Bill consultation response is available here.
Our NI Employment Law Reform Impact Hub is available here and our Dashboard with a full analysis of all the proposals is available here.
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