New Shared Parental Leave Arrangements
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Issued on 17th January 2011 - BIS
The Government has today
announced more detail on its plans for a new system of flexible
parental leave to help parents balance their work and family
commitments.
The coalition agreement
included a commitment to “encouraging shared parenting from the
earliest stages of pregnancy – including the promotion of a system of
parental leave.”
Speaking at a Demos event on
contemporary parenting, the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said:
"Right now, most parents
simply do not have flexibility they need. Despite the fact fathers can
request flexible working, many feel reluctant to do so. There is still
a stigma attached. And, when a child is born, men are still only
entitled to a paltry two weeks of paternity leave. These rules
patronize women and marginalise men.
"They're based on a view of
life in which mothers stay at home and fathers are the only
breadwinners. So in the coming weeks we will be launching a
consultation on a new properly flexible system of shared parental
leave, that we aim to introduce in 2015.”
The Department for Business
will be launching a consultation soon which will explore proposals for
the design of this more flexible system of parental leave. The
consultation will also consider how best to extend the right to request
flexible working to all employees.
Business Secretary Vince
Cable said:
“We want to help parents
juggle work and family life and create a fairer and more family
friendly society.
“We will consult fully with
businesses on how best to proceed and we are conscious of the concerns
of some companies, particularly SMEs – but I hope they will embrace our
plans. More and more businesses are appreciating that family friendly
workplaces are motivated and productive workplaces.”
Home Secretary and Minister
for Women and Equalities Theresa May said:
“It’s not the job of
Government to tell families how they should be raising their children –
they should be able to decide for themselves. That’s why we’re going to
work with business to create a new system of flexible leave that gives
new parents the choice and freedom to decide what’s best for them and
their children.”
Notes:
1. The Coalition: our programme for government
states that:
“We will extend the right to request flexible working to all
employees, consulting with business on how best to do so.”
“We will encourage shared parenting from the earliest stages
of pregnancy – including the promotion of a system of flexible parental
leave.”
“We will review employment and workplace laws, for employers
and employees, to ensure they maximise flexibility for both parties
while protecting fairness and providing the competitive environment
required for enterprise to thrive.”
2. A full version of the Deputy Prime Minister’s speech can be
obtained from the Cabinet Office press office. The speech set out
principles that the Government wants the changes to embody:
- any new arrangement must absolutely maintain women's
guaranteed right to time off in the first months after birth, paid as
it is now; and we must protect the rights of lone mothers.
- the reforms must transform the opportunities for fathers to
take time off to care for their children.
- it must be possible for mother and fathers to share part of
their leave, splitting it between them, in whatever way suits them
best.
- the new system must take into account the needs of
employers and it must be simple to administer.
3. Employed mothers currently receive a long period of
maternity leave and pay (52 weeks leave, 39 weeks pay). Employed
fathers receive much less (2 paid weeks). This system is inflexible and
does not support shared parenting.
4. As an interim measure Additional Paternity Leave
regulations agreed by the last Government will remain in force. The
Government believes these changes are a small step in the right
direction, but do not go far enough. The regulations were passed in
April 2010 and cover parents of children due on or after 3 April 2011.
Additional Paternity leave will give employed fathers a right to up to
six months extra leave which can be taken once the mother has returned
to work after 20 weeks. Some of the leave may be paid if taken during
the mother’s maternity pay period. This is paid at 90% of earnings up
to the same standard rate as Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) which is
currently £124.88 per week (rising to £128.73 from April).
5. Direct Gov has a comprehensive explanation of parents
rights in the workplace www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Moneyandworkentitlements/WorkAndFamilies/index.htm
About the Author
© Crown Copyright.
Material taken from the BIS Department for Business, Innovation and
Skills. Reproduced under the terms and conditions of the Click-Use
Licence.
