Scrutiny to review the impact of Jersey’s family friendly legislation
Scrutiny
26 February 2025
A Scrutiny sub-panel has been set up to gain a better understanding of how Jersey’s family friendly legislation, including changes to the Employment Law made in 2018 and 2020, have been implemented and what the impact has been on families living in the Island. The sub-panel is keen also assess the Government’s provision to provide children with the best possible start in life.
The States Assembly approved a number of amendments to the Employment Law in 2018 following a review of the legislation by the Employment Forum. These included:
- increasing the length of paid parental leave for both parents,
- introducing the right for parents to attend at antenatal appointments,
- introducing the right for mothers to request breastfeeding breaks and requiring employers to take reasonable steps to provide breastfeeding facilities,
- introducing paid absence for pregnant or breastfeeding women who are unable to work on health and safety grounds.
The sub-panel, which will report to the Health and Social Security Scrutiny Panel, will investigate the progress of those actions and assess the effectiveness of the post-implementation survey. It will also assess how the legislation compares to other equivalent jurisdictions, the impact it is having on families and employers in Jersey, and the adequacy of the changes.
Membership of the sub-panel includes Deputy Louise Doublet and Deputy Lucy Stephenson, both of whom sit on the Health and Social Security Scrutiny Panel alongside Deputy Jonathan Renouf and Deputy Sir Philip Bailhache. They will be joined by Deputy Kristina Moore, Deputy Beatriz Porée and Deputy Karen Wilson.
Deputy Louise Doublet, who will Chair the sub-panel, said: ‘The amendments that the Assembly agreed to introduce in 2018 and 2020 were, at the time, seen as a progressive and positive step forward in making the Employment law more family friendly. But the post-implementation survey suggests the changes were not sufficiently communicated to both parents and employers. It’s a decade since Jersey adopted the 1,001 Critical Days manifesto, which highlights the importance of acting early to give children a positive start in life. That starts with ensuring that parents have the correct rights and support in place at the very start of their journey. We, as a Panel, want to ensure the current legislation and policy is sufficient to provide children with the best start in life, and that the Minister has addressed the concerns raised in that post-implementation survey.’
The sub-panel is keen to hear from families and employers regarding their experiences of the new family friendly legislation. Panel members also want to speak to organisations which support families locally, or that have helped businesses to understand and enact the changes. A public hearing will be held to question the Minister for Social Security regarding this.
More information about the Review can be found on our website. Members of the public who wish to share their views can make submission via email (scrutiny@gov.je) or by writing to the Family Friendly Post-Implementation Sub-Panel at Morier House, Halkett Place, St Helier, JE1 1DD.
