CIPD welcomes government proposals

Government proposals for the extension of paternity leave, issued for consultation yesterday, show a welcome willingness to listen to the concerns of employers about the transfer of parental leave from mothers to fathers according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

Mike Emmott, CIPD Employee Relations Adviser, said:

ìWe welcome the governmentís consultation on the introduction of up to six monthís additional paternity leave, and specifically the issue of transferring that leave from mothers to fathers.

ìMore and more employers are recognising the business benefits of offering flexible and family friendly working arrangements. Additional paternity leave should be similarly positive for employers and employees alike.

ìHowever, employers do have legitimate concerns about the complexity and administrative burdens of transferring parental leave from mothers to fathers ñ particularly when more than one employer is involved. In this context, we welcome the governmentís efforts to come up with as simple a system as possible, involving a significant degree of self-certification and responsibility on the part of the parents for completing the paperwork.

ìWe remain of the view that it would have been simpler to confer a right to 26 weeks additional paternity leave on fathers and leave it to working families to decide whether and how to use that. But the governmentís proposals show that they are listening to the concerns of employers, and we are pleased with the efforts to limit the administrative burden on employers. We will consult with employers before issuing a formal response to these government proposals.î

Recent research from a CIPD/KPMG survey of employers looking at the impact of provisions in the Work and Families Act 2006 (WFA) found that almost two-thirds (64%) of employers surveyed think that the paternity leave provisions of the WFA 2006 will cause them either some (48%) or significant (16%) difficulties. The research was conducted before these proposals to reduce the complexity of transferring parental leave from mothers to fathers were published.