Why Don't Fathers Want to Take Shared Parental Leave?
Published byLiam A Entwistle
Only 3,000 fathers took up the opportunity in the first three months of the year to share their partner's maternity leave.
I was on BBC Radio Scotland's Newsdrive today (8 August) regarding the low take-up by fathers. The 3,000 figure was at the lowest end of the projected take-up, and the figure is being used in media sources to suggest that the legislation is a failure. I don’t agree with that. It’s only the first three months after all....
Shared parental leave is a provision that truly “gets” the idea of equality. If mothers of children should be allowed leave in order to care for, and bond with, their children, then why not fathers? As the father of a six month old boy myself, I have a relevant perspective on the aim of the legislation!
However, like all laws aimed at improving equality in the workplace – and therefore in society – its initial introduction may challenge prevailing social norms, and so it takes a bit of time for these kinds of provision to gain traction. At the moment, fathers may feel that they cannot and should not take such leave – that it will have negative outcomes for them in their workplace, or that it will somehow affect their prospects. These are all understandable fears which will change with time – but only if the law sticks around.
There is also the problem that the rules surrounding shared parental leave are quite complex. Almost impenetrable, in fact. The ACAS guide itself runs to nearly 40 pages. However, that issue can be solved by both employers and employees getting the right advice.
There is no doubt that having an employee take a period of time off can impact on any business, particularly a small to medium enterprise, and the loss of wages for the employees. Whoever is taking the leave receives 90 per cent of their normal salary for the first six weeks after the birth – including the fortnight which the mother must take. It then drops to a statutory £140 a week for the next 33 weeks. Whereas many employers have quite generous maternity pay provisions, shared parental leave is based on a statutory amount.
So there are good reasons why the take-up may not be high, but I can see this right becoming more popular. The Millennial Generation increasingly puts a stronger emphasis on family, even over work, and so this is an important right for the development of our society.
All the more reason to ensure you understand what it is and how it works – of course that is where WJM comes in. We have been advising on the law since its introduction to make it more accessible, especially for employers.
For more information, please get in touch.
