Low take-up of shared parental leave as it marks first year

As we mark the first anniversary of the launch of shared parental leave, new research from My Family Care and the Women’s Business Council has found that just 1% of men in the workforce have chosen to take it.

More than half the women questioned for the survey (55%) said that they were reluctant to share their leave, while half of men thought they would be perceived negatively at work if they took it. Almost three-fifths of women thought it would have  a negative impact on their partner’s career.

My Family Care found that take-up of the policy, which allows both parents to share up to 52 weeks’ leave, depended very heavily on individual circumstances, such as whether the shared leave was paid at the same rate as enhanced paternity pay, and differentials in couples’ salaries. Eighty percent of respondents said their decision would be dependent on finances and whether their employer paid above the statutory minimum.

Although take up is still low, the research found that men are interested in taking SPL in the future, with almost two thirds (63%) of men who already have young children, and are considering having more, saying it was likely they would choose to take SPL. 

Ben Black, Founder of My Family Care, which helps businesses introduce family friendly policies, said: “It is still very early days for shared parental leave.  While take up is low, its introduction was a fantastic step forward when it comes to equality in the workplace; a policy that proves that women are no longer expected to be the main childcare provider, while men are no longer expected to be the main breadwinner.

“Of course, all change takes time and while it hasn’t so far been the cultural change that many were clamouring for, I suspect with many companies enhancing paternity leave, momentum will grow.”

Of the 200 employers asked, the majority said that they enhanced both maternity (77%) and paternity (65%) pay.  Those companies who had not enhanced SPL did so because of the potential costs involved, followed by their view that they’d be better off ‘waiting and seeing’ if the opportunity proved popular.

Almost half (48%) of women said they favoured shared parental leave because they wanted to have a shorter time off for career purposes. However, only 40% of individuals said that SPL is encouraged by their employer, although 48% think it will become normalized over time.