New section 78: Special cases
176.This section enables the regulations to make special provision:
(subsections (1) and (2)): about redundancy and dismissal. This will enable the regulations to specify, for example, what happens if the job disappears because of redundancy or the employee is dismissed for reasons not connected with parental leave;
(subsections (3) and (4)): providing for the option of part-time working over a longer period, perhaps limited to particular circumstances;
(subsection (5)): providing for transfer of parental leave in specified circumstances. The Parental Leave Directive says that, in principle, leave should not be transferable from one parent to another. Regulations could however allow for this if there were appropriate exceptional circumstances; and
(subsection (7)): providing for collective or workforce agreements to have effect in place of specified provisions in the regulations. In order to ensure that there is no doubt about which employees have what rights, and that they will be able to enforce their rights, this applies only where the agreements are incorporated into the individual’s contract of employment. These provisions will be enforceable through the employment tribunals.
