Growing readiness for Shared Parental Leave among businesses

Nick Elvin

New research into how businesses feel about the imminent changes in Shared Parental Leave (SPL) reveals increased readiness and optimism among firms.

However, the joint study by My Family Care and law firm Hogan Lovells shows that there are still key concerns among employers, including getting HR managers on board, and the administration caused and the issues of ensuring that the know-how is in place and resources are managed accordingly.

The research, which was undertaken at a think tank event held in October to help educate HR managers on how they can implement SPL, revealed that 35% of businesses would describe themselves as nearly ready or fully prepared for SPL, while almost two thirds (64%) are positive about the changes.

This contrasts with a similar survey of HR staff undertaken in May where 75% of employers said they were worried about what was coming.

Ben Black, director of My Family Care said: “Our latest think tank event threw up some very interesting results when it comes to how HRDs are feeling towards the introduction of Shared Parental Leave.

“It’s a big relief that businesses have come a long way in their preparation for the implementation and are, like me, very optimistic about the changes.

“Shared Parental Leave gives parents the choice on how they care for their child in the first year of their baby’s birth and is a step towards creating a world where successful careers and involved parenting go hand in hand, and where gender is no barrier to success.”

Under the new plans, SPL is designed to allow parents to take leave flexibly in the first year of a child’s life, helping women return to the workplace and allowing men to have more involvement in caring for new babies. It applies to children expected to be born on or after April 5, 2015.

Up to 50 weeks’ leave and 37 weeks’ pay can be shared between the parents if the mother brings her maternity leave and pay to an early end.

Ed Bowyer, employment partner at Hogan Lovells, said: “It’s good to see that many companies have made big progress since our last meeting in May, although time is running out for the 11% of employers who haven’t even started planning yet and the 36% who are uncertain about their plans.

“The most significant strategic decision for most employers will be whether or not to enhance pay. The starting point for many employers is that matching shared paternity pay to maternity pay feels like ‘the right thing to do’. Clearly there are material financial implications in this approach, so it’s important for employers to think seriously now about what they plan and then make an informed decision that is best for the employer and employee.”

Of the HRDs questioned at the think tank event 38 per cent of employers said they plan to match statutory paternity pay with enhanced maternity pay while just 13 per cent said they would offer statutory pay only.