More flexibility all round
The Government has announced plans for a new fully flexible system of parental leave to be introduced with effect from 2015.
Women are currently entitled to a maximum 52 weeks’ maternity leave. Fathers have been able to take between two and 26 weeks of additional paternity leave since 2011, in addition to two weeks’ paternity leave. This is provided the mother has returned to work. Both maternity and paternity leave must be taken in single blocks.
Parents will be given much more flexibility about how they ‘mix and match’ the entitlement of 52 weeks’ leave. An employed mother can still take full maternity leave, but parents could share the leave exactly as they want – maybe taking it in turns or even taking leave at the same time. The only requirement will be for mothers to take the initial two weeks after birth as a recovery period.
What will not change is the amount of guaranteed pay – be it contractual or statutory – which will still only be for nine months. Employed mothers will benefit, especially where they are the higher earner. The hope is that, in future, motherhood will have less impact on womens’ career prospects because fathers will be able to take time off work for extended periods. Fathers will have more flexibility if they want to be involved in their children’s early upbringing, and employers may also benefit if the burden of leave is more evenly spread across two employers.
Plans have also been announced to widen the right to ask for flexible working. Presently, this right generally only applies to parents or carers of children under 17. The proposal is that all employees will have the right to request flexible working, with employers having to consider the requests in a reasonable manner.
Flexible working can take many forms, including job sharing, working from home, working part-time, flexitime and working the same hours but over fewer days. Flexible working should lead to a better-engaged workforce with improved productivity and performance. However, flexible working can be more difficult for smaller businesses to organise. The change is expected to take place in 2014.