As we approach Father’s Day 2011 (Sunday 19th June), Chris Parke, CEO of UK executive coaching company, Talking Talent (www.talking-talent.com), asks if 2011 is the year of the working parent, as the new and radical paternity legislation starts to impact UK businesses.
He comments: “The introduction of the new paternity legislation marks a step change in employment legislation. Working parents now have greater choice over how they manage the early stages of their child’s life and balance childcare and work commitments. For the first time - fathers can share a large part of the parental leave, enabling the women to return to work earlier, secure in the knowledge her baby is with her partner.
“In today’s society ‘one size does not fit all’. In many families both parents work, and often the women is the higher earner. By introducing Additional Paternity Leave legislation, the government has recognised this changing dynamic in family/business life, and has given working parents greater flexibility and choice which will also lead to sustained career momentum for women.”
Talking Talent is beginning to see high levels of interest from both clients, and their employees in relation to the extended paternity leave. It has also seen demand rise for the new paternity coaching programmes it runs through its Talented-Dads.com brand.
One couple that will be sharing parental leave under the new legislation is Patricia Graham, a strategy manager at a city law firm and her partner Angus Wilson, a hospital nurse.
The couple is expecting their first baby in July 2011 and have decided to share parental leave, even though it will mean they will be worse off financially. When Patricia returns to work after about eight or nine months, Angus will take over the remaining months until the baby is 12 months old, when the Additional Paternity Leave for the partner must end.
Patricia says, “We both feel that it is important for our baby to be with one of their parents for as long as possible. Although it will cost us more financially in the first year, we will be able to look back and know that both of us spent quality time with the baby at a crucial time in its development. We believe the benefits to the baby are much more important than money. Angus is looking forward to being a full time dad and as a nurse he is a naturally caring person and will be well suited to this role. Additional Paternity Leave has opened the door for both of us to have a chance to enjoy our baby while it is young.”
Patricia is the higher earner so she also says it makes financial sense for her to go back earlier. However, one of the issues that Patricia has encountered being an ‘early adopter’ of the parental leave was that understanding the new process isn’t straightforward. The Additional Paternity Leave information available from government websites isn’t as clear as it could be, in comparison with the very clear guidelines around maternity leave.
Chris Parke adds: “The legislation was only introduced in April 2011 so as Patricia found there may be teething problems. Companies need to act now to ensure they have clear policies in place because requests are coming in. The success of such legislation depends on companies putting processes in place that make it easy for people to take the parental leave, but also hand over their work effectively and return seamlessly with minimal business disruption.”
Chris has some tips for businesses on what they need to do now to eradicate any confusion and ensure they are prepared:
- Businesses should firstly look at how they plan to extend their statutory pay around paternity.
- Secondly, they may need to consider how they would change their corporate culture so that men are encouraged to take additional paternity leave without it being viewed in a negative way or in any way damaging to their careers.
- Companies should be aware of what the changes in legislation mean in practice, and how their organisation should respond in terms of policy and practice.
- They should consider how they will manage and communicate activity around the paternity leave. It is key to remember who the stakeholders are: the father, other members of staff who work closely with them, their clients and business suppliers.
- Companies should work towards emulating the best practice around maternity, and treat paternity in the same way.
Chris Parke: “It would be so good to reach the point where the cultural norm is for either parent to take on the main childcare role. However, I fear we are still some way away from mirroring our Scandinavian counterparts.”
