Panel urges Minister to delay family friendly changes until September

11th June 2020

The Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel has sent an open letter to the Minister for Social Security urging her to delay implementing the family friendly employment rights, until September, due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.

The Minister has lodged a proposition which, if approved by the States Assembly on 16th June, would implement the family friendly law changes on 28th June. In the letter, the Panel acknowledges that the extensions will improve the position for parents in the workplace, however, given the current situation with Covid-19, where employers have been severely affected, the Panel believes that the implementation of the changes should be delayed by eight weeks. This will allow employers, particularly small organisations, time to recover from the Covid-19 crisis before the new legislation is implemented.

The letter can be read in full here.

 

Chair of the Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel, Deputy Kirsten Morel said:  

"We acknowledge that a careful balance needs to be struck between fostering a family friendly culture in Jersey and supporting our business community. The Panel believes that introducing these changes in the present climate will place an additional burden on businesses in the short-term. In that regard, we urge the Minister to delay the implementation of the changes by just 8 weeks to give businesses the breathing space they need."

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