The government has recently published a response to a 2019 consultation on reforming the parental leave and pay system, 'Good Work Plan: proposals for families', which was issued as part of the Good Work Plan (GWP).
The GWP was published in December 2018 in response to the Taylor review of employment practices in the UK in 2017.
The response details a number of changes to paternity leave which will be implemented in due course.Currently, employed fathers and partners have to choose between taking one week or two weeks' paternity leave; this will change so that they can take the two-week entitlement in two separate blocks of one week if they want to. Rather than just being able to take statutory paternity leave in the first eight weeks after birth or placement for adoption, it will also be possible for the leave to be taken at any time in the first year.
Currently, an employee has to provide notice of the date on which they want their paternity leave to start 15 weeks before the birth. These notice requirements will be changed and it is proposed that only 28 days' notice will be needed, although the notice of entitlement will still need to be given 15 weeks before birth.
The government is not proposing to make any changes to shared parental leave, and although the consultation also considered other family-related leaves, including maternity leave and pay, maternity allowance, and unpaid parental leave, no legislative changes are proposed to these entitlements.
It's worth noting that the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has recently published a report assessing the extent to which shared parental leave (SPL) has achieved its original objectives.
It has found that take-up rates remain very low. Among eligible couples, only 1% of employee mothers and 5% of employee fathers or partners took SPL following the birth or adoption of their child. Take-up of SPL varies amongst different groups of parents. Among fathers and partners, take-up is particularly high in central government organisations, predominantly female workplaces and organisations with a trade union presence. Parents who take up SPL and shared parental pay (ShPP) are more likely to be older, of white ethnicity, highly qualified, work in large organisations, earn a higher income, and have progressive gender role attitudes, compared to parents who do not take up SPL and ShPP.
85% of parents that have taken SPL are satisfied with their current working arrangements, and employers are also shown to be broadly satisfied with the policy, noting increased flexibility for parents and help with staff recruitment and retention. A minority of parents who did not take up SPL said that this was because it was too complicated to set up and manage. Around 15% of fathers or partners who took SPL reported that it negatively affected career progression.
