There has been a quiet revolution over the past 10 years or so in the rights of families at work. First came the extension of the right to take maternity leave to women with less than two years' service, which was followed by the extension of the right to maternity pay. Alongside this came the right to statutory paternity leave and pay and the right to request flexible working, both initially introduced in April 2003. Both of these rights are set to undergo further transformation.

Current paternity leave entitlement is to two weeks off in the eight-week period following the birth of a baby. The previous Labour Government introduced regulations under which a father would be able to share a period of maternity leave with his spouse or partner. The regulations came into force in April 2010 and affect parents of children due on or after 3 April 2011.

Under these regulations employed fathers have the right to take up to six months’ leave after the child is 20 weeks old and before the child’s first birthday. If the leave would have fallen during the mother’s statutory maternity pay period, the right to payment will also transfer to the father and so may in part be paid. This leave is in addition to existing statutory paternity rights.

Following the election of the coalition Government, it was initially unclear whether these changes would be scrapped. However, on 30 September 2010, the employment relations minister, Edward Davey, announced that the Government was committed to family-friendly working and workplaces and that these regulations would remain in force and as originally published. 

Davey, however, also went on to say that the Government intended to introduce much more ambitious plans later in the year and that these regulations are to be regarded very much as an interim measure only.

The introduction of extended paternity leave from April 2011 will be accompanied by a further extension of the right to request flexible working. Current regulations allow parents of children under 17 or disabled children under 18 to request flexible working. A request can only be refused on certain limited grounds. From April 2011, this right will be extended to parents of children under 18, benefiting an estimated further 300,000 people.

Again this is stated to be very much a first step: equality minister Lynne Featherstone said: "This will be a long process involving wide ranging change, and today’s measures are the first stage in that journey." The Government has already announced that it intends to extend the right to request flexible working to all employees and to introduce a system of flexible parental leave. 

The past few weeks have seen the introduction of the Equality Act and this potentially seismic announcement by the Government. Those who hoped for a reduction in employment-related regulation will be sorely disappointed. 

Vanessa Potter is an associate at Doyle Clayton Employment Solicitors