New rights to parental leave

From 2015, parents will have the right to divide maternity leave between them. Will this help alter perceptions of time off in the workplace?

The Shared Parental Leave: The Children’s and Families Bill introduces a right for employed mothers to choose to end their maternity leave any time after the initial two-week recovery period. Working parents can then decide how they want the share the remaining leave between them. This right will include same sex coupes and couples who adopt.

Unlike the current position, parents will be able to be off work at the same time. They will also be able to take leave in separate blocks, returning to work in between times. This will give parents more scope to design childcare that best suits their personal and work circumstances.

The government sees this as a key step to creating a more family-friendly working environment and encouraging dads to take a more active role in their children’s upbringing.

However, employers will be concerned by a number of aspects of these new rights. For example, planning short-term cover may be difficult and could lead to resentment among other employees, who might have to take up the slack. Both parents have to agree their leave patterns with their respective employers, which will take up management and HR time. Working out precise entitlements to statutory pay may be time-consuming.

To read further information on the Acas website, click here

I will keep you posted.