Are increased rights for fathers flexible enough?

On 6 April the Additional Paternity Leave Regulations 2010 were introduced, allowing fathers, partners of mothers and adopters to take up to six months’ additional paternity leave (APL) where the mother or primary adopter has returned to work. Statutory paternity leave entitlement is currently limited to a maximum of two consecutive weeks’ paid leave and this will continue to apply until parents qualify under the new regulations.

The topic of gender inequality in the workplace has been on the main political parties’ agendas for some time. Of course, their views on what needs changing vary.

Labour

The regulations reflect Labour’s stance on the topic. Eligible employees can take up to 26 weeks’ leave to care for a child, provided the mother (or adopter) has returned to work. APL cannot start earlier than 20 weeks after the child is born and can end no later than the child’s first birthday. Some of this APL may be paid if the maternity or adoption pay period has not been exhausted. APL will be available for parents of children due on or after 3 April 2011 (or adopters notified of a match for adoption on or after 3 April 2011).

Tory

The Conservatives support the increased rights, but consider the current position not flexible enough. They believe that paid maternity leave should be more flexible, with women taking the first 14 weeks to bond with the child and the remaining period being used by the father, enabling the mother to return to work. Or, they suggest, the leave could be taken simultaneously, allowing both to stay at home together. They want to leave it up to the parents to decide how to use the leave.

Lib Dem

The Liberal Democrats believe maternity and paternity leave should be replaced with a single system of parental leave that would entitle parents to share the 12 months leave between them as they see fit.

While a change in government is unlikely to result in any immediate changes to the recently implemented regulations, we could see an extension of the rights of fathers in the future.

Compliance

Parents will be required to self-certify their eligibility for APL to their employers. They may be subject to further checks, which could involve the father, partner of the mother, or adopter’s employers confirming the position with the mother’s/primary adopter’s employer, although there is no requirement for this to happen. Self-certification carries the potential for fraud by employers and employees, so HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will carry out compliance checks on a sample of employers. Of course, any proven employee dishonesty could lead to potential dismissal for gross misconduct and result in penalties being imposed by HMRC.

Guidance

Further guidance on the new APL rights will be available before next April. In the meantime, employers should establish a system for monitoring eligibility for APL and those organisations that give enhanced pay to mothers on additional maternity leave should consider whether they will allow employees taking an equivalent period as APL to benefit from that enhanced rate of pay. Not providing equivalent pay could amount to discrimination.

Source People Management