Paternity leave a labouring issue

More than half of businesses disagree with the Equal Opportunities Commission’s appeal for better paid leave and more flexible working hours for fathers, a new survey has found.

Fifty-four percent of human resource professionals surveyed by Croner, one of the UK’s leading providers of business information and advice, do not think that a father’s right to paternity leave should be made equal to maternity leave.

Legislation introduced on April 6 2003 entitles eligible new fathers to two weeks leave with Statutory Paternity Pay, currently payable at 102.80 per week.

Mothers are entitled to up to 52 weeks of maternity leave with statutory maternity pay (SMP) being payable for the first 26 weeks. SMP is payable at the rate of 90% of the employee’s earnings for the first six weeks and then at the lower rate of 102.80 for the remaining 20 weeks.

Although 46 percent of respondents to the survey carried out on Croner’s www.humanresources-centre.net think fathers should have the same rights as mums, Croner is advising employers that the Government is unlikely to extend paternity leave entitlement.

Additional parental rights exist for employees with over one year’s service and who have parental responsibilities for a child. They are entitled to unpaid parental leave of up to 13 weeks for each child under the age of five (this increases where the child is disabled).

Many fathers currently do not even take their full paternity or parental leave entitlements and Kimbra Green, employment law expert at Croner, which is part of Wolters Kluwer UK, says that whilst these privileges are not being taken up by employees, an equal offering for men and women is unlikely to happen, but she explains it is not even necessarily required.

She says: I don’t think our survey result suggests any sexual discrimination against fathers, but merely a realistic approach to maternity and paternity leave. Maternity rights are in place to prevent discrimination of mothers who should not have to make the choice between a family and her career.

The law was changed last April to improve fathers’ rights to paternity leave from nothing to two weeks when their baby is born, but it is doubtful that that the government will ever increase paternity rights to equal maternity leave.

Croner is advising employers to:

Keep up to date with paternity, maternity and parental rights

Clearly communicate all parental rights to staff

Encourage staff to be proactive, plan well ahead and request leave as soon as they know the projected date of birth in order for cover arrangements to be made

Support and encourage employees, both fathers and mothers, to take their full entitlement if they wish to do so.

Kimbra says: Paternity leave should not be a problematic issue as long as employers comply with the law and ensure all staff are aware of their rights. In fact, promoting work/life balance can benefit employers by helping to improve employee relations and boost loyalty and motivation.