[UK] Government urged to end shared parental leave

The UK government has been urged to reform parental leave in the Employment Bill later this year. A group of campaigners and unions have called for an end to its shared parental leave policy, Personnel Today reports.

Frances O’Grady - the TUC general secretary - said it was crucial to “urgently overhaul the parental leave system, not just tinker around the edges”.

“Both parents should have time to care and bond with their baby, without having to transfer leave between them,” she said.

Mothers can share up to 50 weeks of parental leave with their partner, under current legislation, and up to 37 weeks of shared parental pay.

Statutory shared parental pay totals around £150 per week. Maternity pay includes six weeks’ pay at 90 per cent of average earnings and lasts 39 weeks often making it the more affordable option unless one or both of the couple has an employer offering enhanced benefits.

The take-up of shared parental leave has reportedly stalled at around 2 per cent of those eligible.

Ms O’Grady said, “Without meaningful reforms, many dads won’t be able to afford to take time off work when their kids are born. And women will continue to shoulder an unequal share of care and be penalised.”

The TUC united with a group of organisations - including Maternity Action, the Fawcett Society and the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) as well as the Royal College of Midwives and the Women’s Budget Group - to call upon ministers to report back on a consultation into parental leave that was due to present its findings in 2019.

Maternity Action has proposed a new model of parental leave that would give both parents non-transferable paid leave. It claims the change would increase gender equality at work as couples would not be forced to take the best financial option but instead could make the choice which best worked for their careers.

Rosalind Bragg - Maternity Action’s director - said, “The pandemic has confirmed what we’ve all known for a long time – working mothers are on their knees.

“One way to redress the balance would be making it as easy as possible for fathers and partners to take on their share of the parenting load starting from birth.”

Yesterday insurance company Aviva - which offers employees up to one year of leave with six months of full basic pay for either parent - reported that 99 per cent of fathers employed by the company used its equal leave policy during the COVID-19 pandemic with 84 per cent taking at least six months’ leave.

Danny Harmer - Aviva’s chief people officer - said the policy gave a “welcome reassurance” to families during the pandemic.

“A key challenge with hybrid or remote working is that those with caring responsibilities, who are more likely to be women, become less visible unless organisations act consciously.

“Our hope is that policies like equal parental leave help to balance caring responsibilities between genders and remove any gender-based or carer-based barriers to career progression.”

The UK government has been urged to reform parental leave in the Employment Bill later this year. A group of campaigners and unions have called for an end to its shared parental leave policy, Personnel Today reports.

Frances O’Grady - the TUC general secretary - said it was crucial to “urgently overhaul the parental leave system, not just tinker around the edges”.

“Both parents should have time to care and bond with their baby, without having to transfer leave between them,” she said.

Mothers can share up to 50 weeks of parental leave with their partner, under current legislation, and up to 37 weeks of shared parental pay.

Statutory shared parental pay totals around £150 per week. Maternity pay includes six weeks’ pay at 90 per cent of average earnings and lasts 39 weeks often making it the more affordable option unless one or both of the couple has an employer offering enhanced benefits.

The take-up of shared parental leave has reportedly stalled at around 2 per cent of those eligible.

Ms O’Grady said, “Without meaningful reforms, many dads won’t be able to afford to take time off work when their kids are born. And women will continue to shoulder an unequal share of care and be penalised.”

The TUC united with a group of organisations - including Maternity Action, the Fawcett Society and the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) as well as the Royal College of Midwives and the Women’s Budget Group - to call upon ministers to report back on a consultation into parental leave that was due to present its findings in 2019.

Maternity Action has proposed a new model of parental leave that would give both parents non-transferable paid leave. It claims the change would increase gender equality at work as couples would not be forced to take the best financial option but instead could make the choice which best worked for their careers.

Rosalind Bragg - Maternity Action’s director - said, “The pandemic has confirmed what we’ve all known for a long time – working mothers are on their knees.

“One way to redress the balance would be making it as easy as possible for fathers and partners to take on their share of the parenting load starting from birth.”

Yesterday insurance company Aviva - which offers employees up to one year of leave with six months of full basic pay for either parent - reported that 99 per cent of fathers employed by the company used its equal leave policy during the COVID-19 pandemic with 84 per cent taking at least six months’ leave.

Danny Harmer - Aviva’s chief people officer - said the policy gave a “welcome reassurance” to families during the pandemic.

“A key challenge with hybrid or remote working is that those with caring responsibilities, who are more likely to be women, become less visible unless organisations act consciously.

“Our hope is that policies like equal parental leave help to balance caring responsibilities between genders and remove any gender-based or carer-based barriers to career progression.”