Section 77 | Rights during and after parental leave. ^F1

(1)Regulations under section 76 shall provide—

(a)that an employee who is absent on parental leave is entitled, for such purposes and to such extent as may be prescribed, to the benefit of the terms and conditions of employment which would have applied if he had not been absent,

(b)that an employee who is absent on parental leave is bound, for such purposes and to such extent as may be prescribed, by any obligations arising under those terms and conditions (except in so far as they are inconsistent with section 76(1)), and

(c)that an employee who is absent on parental leave is entitled, subject to section 78(1), to return from leave to a job of such kind as the regulations may specify.

(2)In subsection (1)(a) “terms and conditions of employment”—

(a)includes matters connected with an employee’s employment whether or not they arise under a contract of employment, but

(b)does not include terms and conditions about remuneration.

(3)Regulations under section 76 may specify matters which are, or are not, to be treated as remuneration for the purposes of subsection (2)(b) above.

(4)The regulations may make provision, in relation to the right to return mentioned in subsection (1)(c), about—

(a)seniority, pension rights and similar rights;

(b)terms and conditions of employment on return.