Shared parental leave plans welcome but should do more for parents

The TUC welcomes the government's plan to introduce shared parental leave, but is calling for broader eligibility and better support for parents to overcome the very low levels of take-up predicted.

In its parliamentary submission to the Children and Families Bill introducing the leave, the TUC is also calling for better rights for low paid and agency workers who stand to miss out on many of the new rights under the Bill.

TUC response to Children and Families Bill: Summary

The TUC broadly supports parts 6 to 8 of the Children and Families Bill which provide for:

shared parental leave and pay;

better rights for parents who have children via surrogacy or adopt;

time off for fathers/partners to attend ante-natal or adoption appointments;

and the extension of the right to request flexible working.

Shared Parental Leave

Under the proposed Bill, the government estimates that only two to eight percent of eligible fathers/partners will take shared parental leave. To increase take-up of shared parental leave the Bill should provide for: a reserved period of leave for fathers/partners; eligibility for shared parental leave as a day one right, and improvements in the low flat rate of pay.

The eligibility criteria for shared parental leave are complex and risk creating confusion for employees and employers. Instead shared parental leave should be a day one right, there should be an allowance (equivalent to maternity allowance) for those who do not qualify for shared parental pay, and the removal of other criteria such as the requirement for the partner to be economically active.

The Bill proposes that shared parental leave can only be taken in weekly blocs. Instead parents should be able to take leave more flexibly e.g. on a part time basis, and that employers should consider shared parental leave requests in a reasonable manner.

To tackle the alarming levels of pregnancy discrimination and encourage fathers/partners to take shared parental leave, the TUC supports a clear right of return to the same job for those taking leave to look after a child irrespective of the length of that leave.

Ante-natal appointments

The right to unpaid time off to attend ante-natal or adoption appointments is welcome, but should be paid and be for a 'reasonable' time off, rather than be limited to two blocks of not more than 6.5 hours. It should also apply to all agency workers as both prospective mothers and partners as a day one right.

Extension of the right to request flexible working

The extension of the right to flexible working to all employees is welcome. However, the right to request should be available as a day one right and extended to all workers. Further, the TUC is concerned that the replacement of the statutory procedure with an ACAS Code of Practice will send the signal to employers that accommodating flexible working requests is less important.

Other key rights

The TUC also supports the introduction of breastfeeding rights at work as well as access to leave for other carers supporting a mother such as a grandparent.

See also

Touchstone blog: Will Shared parental leave solve the dads drought?