Following the Work and Families "Choice and Flexibility" consultation document, February 2005, the Queen's Speech at the opening of Parliament on 17th May 2005 promised legislation "to offer greater support for working families by extending maternity benefits and improving the provision of child care" (see notes at Bills before Parliament/2005 Queen's Speech ). The Work and Families Bill (name changed from the originally proposed "Parental Rights Bill") was the starting point for implementation of this commitment.

The overall intention is to improve "work life balance" and to ensure that parents can be the primary carers of very young children. In the main the Act follows the increasingly common pattern of giving ministers power to make regulations about specific matters rather than itself making changes to the law. It is thus fairly short (20 sections).

The main provisions of the Work and Families Act 2006, supplemented by the regulations noted above, provide in relation to babies due to be born or placed for adoption on or after 1st April 2007 for:-

• 52 weeks statutory maternity leave for all working mothers regardless of length of service;
  
• extension of the period of Statutory maternity pay (''SMP''), Maternity Allowance and Statutory Adoption Pay (from twenty six weeks to thirty nine weeks from April 2007 with provision to extend to fifty two weeks);
  
• facilitating arrangements for employers and employees to keep in contact during the leave period and requiring an employee to give 8 weeks notice if intending to return to work before the end of the maternity leave period;
  
• the father (or a partner with parental responsibilities) to be able to take additional paid paternity leave of up to 26 weeks if the mother returns to work without using up her full entitlement to paid maternity leave (likely to come into effect in April 2010).

It also, from 6th April 2007:

• extends the right to request flexible working to those caring for adult relatives (widely defined - see notes at Flexible Working/2003 rules ) .

There are also provisions giving ministers power to:

• increase the minimum annual holiday entitlement from 20 days to 28 days (pro-rata for part-timers - see notes at Holidays/2007 changes ).
  
• make a one-off increase to the (already inflation linked) maximum amount of a week's pay for the purpose of certain calculations.

See also notes at Bills before Parliament/Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill .