The first available figures exposing low take-up of new rights to paid Shared Parental Leave, show that just 3,000 new parents were taking advantage of the system in the first three months of 2016* – one year on from its introduction, reveals EMW, the commercial law firm.
By contrast, approximately 52,000 fathers and 155,000 mothers took paternity and maternity leave in an equivalent time period in 2013/14**. EMW says that this shows that the new rules, which are aimed at enabling new fathers to take more time off to care for their children, is being significantly under-utilised. It adds that this raises a question as to how much demand exists for such a measure. EMW says that policymakers need to give more consideration to what benefits future changes to employment law will actually deliver versus the impact on small businesses which have to implement those changes. The new Shared Parental Leave system allows parents to share paid time off between them, in place of (and at the same rate*** as) Statutory Maternity Pay.
The figures for Quarter 1 2016 are the first figures available on Shared Parental Pay (ShPP), although the new system actually came into force for children born from April 2015 onwards. This is because previous figures included Additional Statutory Paternity Pay (now phased out). Jon Taylor, Principal at EMW, says: “Hundreds of thousands of families could be missing out by not embracing this new, more flexible system. Demand remains very low, even though it could be just as worthwhile financially, as well as being personally rewarding. While enabling parents to share childcare more equally is a positive move, policymakers also need to think carefully about what impact measures like this will really have – both on those it is meant to benefit, and their employers who will have to manage a more complex system.”
“There may be other, more effective ways to help businesses provide family-friendly policies such as tax breaks for childcare provision. Many new parents are still unaware of their new rights or are unclear about how the new system will work in practice – for their families and for their careers. Many of the old concerns which have long acted as a disincentive to taking extended maternity or paternity leave still remain. New parents are as acutely aware as ever of the financial pressures that a temporary fall in incomes could have at a time when they are also having to manage the extra costs of providing for a new baby. Uncertainty over the impact time off will have on individual’s careers also looms large. While many employers are taking a much more enlightened attitude to paternal leave than ever before, this is not always seen as an easy thing to raise.”
“Fathers in particular may still be concerned over the perceived stigma attached to asking for greater flexibility to take a greater role in their child’s care, in case they appear to be less ambitious or committed as a consequence. However, employers have an obligation to accommodate eligible requests in the same way for fathers as they do for mothers. Employers may well find that taking a pro-active as well as open and approachable attitude could help reduce the risk of misunderstanding, and improve loyalty and retention of talented staff.”
*Number of employees receiving a Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) payment between January-March 2016
**Year end March 31st 2014. Latest data available.
***Rates may differ for the first six weeks
