Prime Minister has today launched a
consultation calling for views on changes to parental leave
entitlements to ensure they better reflect our modern society and
the desire to share childcare more equally.
It asks questions on whether statutory
Paternity leave for fathers and same sex partners should be
changed and for suggestions on ways in which the shared parental
leave policy introduced in 2015 could be improved.
It also sets out how the government is
looking to introduce a new Neonatal Leave and Pay entitlement,
for parents of premature and sick babies who need to spend a
prolonged period in neonatal care following
birth.
Parents would receive one week of Neonatal
Leave and Pay for every week that their baby is in hospital. This
would be available to mothers, fathers and
partners.
The new entitlement would mean that fathers
and partners will no longer need to rely on taking annual and
unpaid leave if their child is in hospital for longer than their
paternity leave period. It would also provide them with
additional time at home with their child to make up for the time
spent in hospital.
In the UK, an estimated 100,000 babies are
admitted to neonatal care every year following their birth.
For fathers and partners, typically their whole 2 weeks of
Paternity Leave is spent with the mother and baby in hospital.
Where a baby is kept in neonatal care for longer than 2 weeks, a
Bliss survey found that around 36% of fathers and partners were
signed off sick while their baby was in neonatal
care.
Prime Minister said:
“The experience of parenting has changed
almost beyond recognition over the past 40 years, with fathers
wanting to share caring responsibilities more equally from the
outset.
“In introducing shared parental leave, we
have taken significant steps to support parents to do this, but
all too often it is still mothers, not fathers, who shoulder the
burden of childcare. It is clear that we need to do more and
that’s why today we have launched a consultation calling for
views on how we can improve the current system.
“We also want to look at further specific
support for parents who are already dealing with the unimaginable
stress of their babies needing special neonatal care. Parents
have more than enough on their plates without worrying about
their parental leave running out and having to return to work
before their precious newborn comes home.
“That’s not fair and it’s not right. So
we’re also proposing a new Neonatal Leave and Pay entitlement to
make this time a bit easier for parents whose babies need to
spend a prolonged period in neonatal care.”
Minister for Women & Equalities,
, said:
"Shared parental leave is hugely
advantageous for both men and women and forms a key part of the
government's equalities agenda. It allows men to spend more time
with their child, helping them to develop that paternal bond, and
provides women with vital support at home during such an
important time in their child's life.
"This announcement is another step in the
right direction, towards giving parents even more choice about
how they manage work and parenting responsibilities. Fathers
should not have to rely on annual and unpaid leave if they want
to be involved in the first months of their child's
life."
We also want to make sure that potential
parents have the information they need about their potential
employers from the outset so they can make the choices that are
right for them. That’s why we’re also consulting on whether
employers should publish their leave and pay and flexible working
policies and whether there should be a requirement for employers
to consider advertising jobs as
flexible.
The government’s consultation aims to
challenge the assumption entrenched in our parental leave
entitlements that the mother must be the primary carer in the
early stages of a child’s life.
The active involvement of both parents in
parenting duties at home has clear benefits for families, for
relationships, for childcare, for business and for wider
society.
The government believes that changing
paternity leave could have an important impact in promoting
better gender equality in work and at home. The UK is below the
OECD average in terms of length of dedicated paternity leave
offered, though highest on length of maternity leave,
demonstrating the size of the current discrepancy.
