Positive start for shared parental leave 13 January 2016
A report from Working Families shows that despite concerns that shared parental leave would mean disrupted working patterns; four out of five employees are taking leave in a single, continuous block.
Employers do continue though, to have concerns about the complexity of shared parental leave and about the cultural acceptability of fathers taking leave.
The report, Shared parental leave: the perspective from employers , shows that take-up is at an early stage (0.5- 2% of eligible fathers) but seven out of ten employers (71%) expect take-up to increase in the future. Two thirds of employers (67%) are planning to review their shared parental leave policy in the next year as the new provisions become more established.
The research also found that more than two thirds of employers are supportive of shared parental leave (67%) and a third of employers (32%) are matching shared parental leave pay to existing enhanced maternity pay.
Sarah Jackson, Chief Executive of Working Families, said:
“We’re further than we should be from equality between men and women at work but this could be the beginnings of the culture change we need to empower and enable families to share care.
These results show that employers are committed to playing their part to make shared parental leave a real option for new families – the scheme would help even more families if fathers could take this leave from their first day in a new job, just like mothers can.
Employers told us that some new mothers aren’t sure about ‘giving up’ some of their maternity leave: which is why we need a proper period of paid time off especially for fathers.”
Gender Pay Gap report calls for more effective policy on shared parental leave 1 April 2016
The Women and Equalities Committee report on the Gender Pay Gap includes recommendations to increase shared parental leave to three months for second parents and to bring payments into line with statutory maternity pay.
The Women and Equalities Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Government Equalities Office (GEO).
The Gender Pay Gap report highlights the lack of effective policy in many of the areas that contribute to the gender pay gap. It finds that the key causes of pay differentials are:
the part-time pay penalty women’s disproportionate responsibility for childcare and other forms of unpaid caring the concentration of women in highly feminised, low paid sectors like care, retail and cleaning. The report states that although the Government has committed to eliminating the 19.2% pay gap within a generation, it has remained at around the same level for the past four years. Women aged over 40 are most affected by the gender pay gap, with women aged 50-59 facing a 27% differential. Evidence suggests that the barriers to well-paid work currently experienced by women over 40 will continue unless action is taken to address the root causes of the gender pay gap. The report concludes that if Government is to achieve its objective of reducing the gender pay gap it needs a more effective policy on shared parental leave (SPL). The report recommends that current weaknesses can be addressed by:
CIPP Policy News Journal
25/04/2016, Page 418 of 453
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