14 hours ago
A better paternity leave package would encourage take-up
Paternity leave rights in the UK currently run to a fortnight that must be taken within 52 weeks of a child's birth — and is paid at the rate of £187.18 a week or 90 per cent of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
That is significantly below the national living wage and places a strain on working families. The current system also leads to many fathers and same-sex partners falling through the gaps, with the self-employed, those earning less than £123 per week, or those who have not yet been with their employer long enough being entitled to no paternity leave or pay.
The shared parental leave scheme that was introduced in 2014 aimed to give fathers and other parents the chance to play a more prominent role in the first year. This scheme allows parents to surrender maternity leave and pay, and switch into the shared parental leave regime, so that up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay can be taken flexibly between parents.
However, the uptake has been low. The complexity of the regime (which many employees and employers struggle to understand), the statutory rates of pay, and the fact that it effectively takes time away from the parent on maternity leave, all contribute to a lack of enthusiasm for the scheme.
As a result, many, often larger, employers take it upon themselves to provide enhanced family leave and pay entitlements in a bid to support their staff and provide a more attractive array of benefits. Legal advice is often taken to ensure such policies are fair and non-discriminatory.
A better enhanced statutory paternity regime would certainly improve the position for many families, particularly on lower incomes, and would undoubtedly increase take-up.
While most people would agree with the idea that giving both parents more time with their families is beneficial, the real issue will be to work out how this is funded. Currently employers that qualify for small business relief can recoup the full cost of statutory paternity pay, and other employers can generally recoup 92 per cent of the cost. If paternity leave is extended and pay enhanced, it is unclear how much of the cost would remain funded.
Businesses may well be concerned about the burden of additional cost and the pressures on resourcing that more prolonged absences would cause. Ultimately a balanced approach that considers the needs of families and the financial realities of business will be Wallbank is a partner at the law firm Freeths
