The scheme offers equal parental leave to male and female employees – up to one year in the UK, including six months at full pay. The law on shared parental leave (SPL), including entitlement to shared parental leave in a birth or adoption situation, continuous and discontinuous periods of leave, shared-parental-leave-in-touch days, and the curtailment of maternity or adoption leave. What’s in it for me; Top tips for mothers This is a guest article by YESS law with help from Working Families and Maternity Action.. She is a member of the Responsible Marketing group, Work Inclusivity Research Centre and an Associate of the Centre for Responsible Business. They were rescued after being found abandoned on the North East coast, Edinburgh University students protest against the false promise of 'hybrid learning' to new and returning students during the Covid-19 pandemic in Edinburgh, Scotland. The project involves multiple streams of work to understand and help the UK break down barriers to equal parenting and give all parents the opportunity to be actively involved in caring for their children. Part of the reason for this low uptake is attributed to financial constraints as often the father earns more than the mother and employers do not tend to enhance shared parental pay in the same way as they do … The Shocking Shared Parental Leave Statistics One Year On 5th April 2016 by Al Ferguson Today marks the anniversary of the Governments latest legislation on paternity leave, called shared parental leave … The TUC wants fathers to have their own paternity leave, which would be available to fathers from the first day in a job, including those on zero-hour contracts and in self-employed roles. Early research by organisation such as My Family Care Ltd and Working Family Ltd indicated that the uptake was indeed just as the government predicted. Andy took 8 weeks shared parental leave combined with 2 weeks paternity leave and 2 weeks annual leave – 12 weeks off in total. For as up to date statistics as possible: How many parents went on maternity or paternity leave in the UK & Ireland? Birmingham B15 2TT It is important that parents have a conversation about caring and SPL. Pay and leave must be shared in the first year after the child is born or placed with the family. Just 9,200 new parents took up shared leave in 2018 out of more than 900,000 who were eligible. Select the statement you most agree with: I do not understand the information. Many parents are not eligible to take SPL, for example, the self-employed. Some companies offer more generous shared parental leave payments. Shared leave is not available for fathers in insecure jobs such as, TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “, {{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}}, Just 1% of new parents take up shared parental leave, report finds, You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully, Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable, Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties, We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification. Sarah’s research focuses on encouraging voluntary behavioural change and survey measurement. It was designed to improve women’s career opportunities by making it easier to share responsibility for raising children. In the UK shared parental leave, or SPL, was introduced in 2015. You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. Of the 50 weeks of leave that can be shared, 37 weeks can be paid (at £140.98 per week) providing they meet the eligibility criteria. Dr Katherine Twamley's research on parental leave in the UK is featured alongside the photographs. “If ministers are serious about getting men more involved after their child is born, they should give all dads longer, better-paid paternity leave. 2.—(1) The provisions relating to shared parental leave in Part 2 have effect only in relation to children whose expected week of birth begins on or after 5th April 2015. This information is based on the birth of a child but it also applies to couples who are adopting a […] Working Families is the UK’s leading work-life balance organisation. Please tell us why the information did not help. Research looking at public attitudes about taking shared parental leave, to understand the issues affecting people taking it. Aviva says there has … SPL is an important tool for tackling the gender pay gap which we know is partly down to the motherhood penalty women face after having/adopting their first child and taking maternity leave. Eligible parents who are sharing responsibility for a child can get SPL in the first year after: the birth of their child; adopting a child; getting a parental order if they had the child through surrogacy; How much Shared Parental Leave a parent can get The existing Open Comments threads will continue to exist for those who do not subscribe to Independent Premium. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Dr Holly Birkett is a lecturer at Birmingham Business School. The figures for the total number of claimants of ShPP does not reflect all those using Shared Parental Leave as it does not include those parents that only used unpaid Shared Parental Leave towards the end of the first year, therefore the figures likely considerably underestimate the actual usage of all SPL. Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates. For more information or interviews, please contact: Hasan Salim Patel, Communications Manager (Arts, Law and Social Sciences) on +44 (0) 121 415 8134 or contact the press office out of hours on +44 (0) 7789 921 165. These figure excludes companies who did not claim the statutory ShPP back from government. Its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers, teachers and more than 5,000 international students from over 150 countries. Why take Shared Parental Leave? Dr Holly Birkett says: “The growing number of parents using Shared Parental Leave has been steadily increasing since its introduction due to the flexibility of the policy and the ability for fathers to take leave throughout the 1st year. The School’s vision is to promote curiosity and thought leadership for responsible business. Maternity and parental rights include maternity, paternity, shared parental, adoption leave and pay, and unpaid paternity leave. The union organisation is calling for paternity leave pay to be increased to at least minimum wage levels, a move it said could help half a million dads spend more time with their new babies. The aim of SPLASH is to provide employees and employers with access to clear information about Shared Parental Leave and Pay. 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Dr Sarah Forbes said: “Our research has shown that in the past workplace culture and a lack of knowledge amongst managers and HR personnel has been stifling the growth in uptake of SPL but as organisations and parents become more aware of the policy take up increases. The numbers were generated as part of a Freedom of Information request. Andy says: You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies to your comment. Researchers at the University of Birmingham have found out individuals claimants for Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) the statutory paid part of Shared Parental Leave (SPL) has increased by 73% between 2015/16 and 2018/2019. For information on the basics of shared parental leave (SPL), including who is entitled, how much leave you can take, and how the system works, see Shared Parental Leave: Nuts and Bolts and Top Tips. Jim was a Corporal in the Royal Marines and was coxswain of a landing craft assault on June 6, 1944 and will observe the Two Minutes Silence on Sunday by standing on his doorstep, The sunrises over woodland in Ashford, Kent, Two men walk over a nearly deserted Westminster Bridge, in foggy conditions, at the start of a four week national lockdown for England, Laura Martindale, manager of The Rocket public house in Whiston, pours away spoilt beer that has gone off after the pub was placed into tier three and now faces a four week lockdown ahead of a national lockdown for England, An oast house surrounded by autumn colours in the morning sunshine near Hawkhurst in Kent, Large waves crash over the harbour wall in Newhaven, East Sussex, during strong winds, Shoppers queue outside Ikea in Batley, West Yorkshire, after Boris Johnson announced a new national lockdown will come into force in England next week, Boris Johnson announces new restrictions in No 10, The hallway of the Halloween house of Conor Pilkington (centre), 23, from Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, who has gone all out this year with his Halloween display. Don’t believe the statistics, shared parental leave is working The change enables eligible men to share up to 52 weeks of parental leave with their partner and has been held up as one of the key contributions of the Lib Dems to the coalition government. The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world’s top 100 institutions. However, it will no doubt come as a blow to those campaigning for greater uptake of shared parental leave. Several countries have brought in shared parental leave benefits since Sweden became the first to do so in 1974. The amount available will depend on how much the mother/primary adopter reduces their maternity/adoption pay period or maternity allowance period. By driving uptake of SPL, fathers can experience the multiple rewards of being actively involved in caring for their child in the first year and support their partners to return to work should they wish to do so. Just 5% of new fathers and 8% of new mothers have opted to take shared parental leave since it was introduced in April 2015, according to the CIPD. Letter for employers refusing a discontinuous leave booking for Shared Parental Leave. Many parents in the United Kingdom are eligible to take SPL, but most still do not take it due to a lack of awareness of the numerous benefits for their family and their child. Due to the sheer scale of this comment community, we are not able to give each post the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate. The TUC, which carried out the research, said take-up is still so poor four years after the system was introduced because most fathers cannot afford to live off the £145 per week payment. Holly’s research focuses on work inclusivity and careers. Dr Twamley's research found that 7.4% of expectant mothers intend to take shared parental leave. This research is part of a larger study currently being undertaken as part of the Equal Parenting Project at the Birmingham Business School. This means that if a man takes leave in the early stages he is likely to be providing support to the mother, which is a great, but he is unlikely to be gaining experience as the sole and primary caregiver. It allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions, and more. The data disclosed within the Freedom of Information request is based on claiming of ShPP only. Increased uptake of SPL and involvement of fathers in caring in the first year can also have significant positive impacts on child development, child/father bonding, paternal welfare and parental mental health. 2,138 adults from across the UK were surveyed between 04and 11 December 2014 to examine attitudes towards Shared Parenting and assess potential uptake of Shared Parental Leave entitlement. New parents can share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay. The most insightful comments on all subjects will be published daily in dedicated articles. Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines. The minimal take-up of shared parental leave in the UK, estimated, in the absence of reliable statistics, at about 2% of 285,000 eligible couples annually, has The event was held to raise money for the Age UK charity and involved participants from an open water swimming club, The sun sets behind the Palace of Westminster, the home of the Houses of Parliament in central London, The finishing touches are put to a 40ft Christmas Tree at Somerset House in London, A swimmer takes to the water at Serpentine Swimming Club after the second national lockdown ends in England. It’s not an affordable option for most working families. (2) The provisions relating to shared parental leave in Part 3 have effect only in relation to children placed for adoption on or after 5th April 2… This research follows on from the research conducted by Dr Holly Birkett and Dr Sarah Forbes (Co-Directors of the Equal Parenting Project) at the University of Birmingham in May 2019 which looked to understand how to increase the usage of SPL in the first year after the birth or adoption of their child. Just 9,200 new parents took up shared leave in 2018 out of more than 900,000 who were eligible, the study found. Important information when interpreting the data. 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