Maternity Protection (Amendment) Act 2004

Amendment of section 16 of Principal Act.

10.—Section 16 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) If a woman who has been delivered of a living child (in this section referred to as ‘the mother’) dies at any time before the expiry of the twenty-fourth week following the week of her confinement, the father of the child (if he is employed under a contract of employment) shall be entitled in accordance with this section to leave from his employment for a period ending as follows—

(a) if the mother dies before the expiry of the sixteenth week following the week of her confinement, the period ends, subject to section 16B, at the end of that sixteenth week, and

(b) if the mother dies at any time after the expiry of that sixteenth week, the period ends, subject to sections 16A and 16B, at the end of the twenty-fourth week following the week of her confinement.”,

(b) by the substitution of the following subsections for subsections (3) and (4):

“(3) Subject to section 16B, the period of leave under subsection (1) shall commence within 7 days of the mother's death; and in this section and sections 16A and 16B—

(a) a period of leave which ends as mentioned in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) is referred to as ‘subsection (1)(a) leave’, and

(b) a period of leave which ends as mentioned in paragraph (b) of that subsection is referred to as ‘subsection (1)(b) leave’.

(4) A father who has taken subsection (1)(a) leave shall, if he so wishes, be entitled to further leave from his employment for a maximum period of—

(a) 8 consecutive weeks commencing immediately after the end of his subsection (1)(a) leave, or

(b) 8 weeks, all or part of which is postponed in accordance with section 16B, commencing either in accordance with that section or immediately after the end of his subsection (1)(a) leave,

as may be appropriate.”,

and

(c) in subsection (5), by the substitution of “Subject to section 16B, entitlement to further leave under subsection (4)” for “Entitlement to further leave under subsection (4)”.