Many mums and dads still in the dark about Shared Parental Leave

Many mums and dads still in the dark about Shared Parental Leave

If you’ve just welcomed a new addition to your family no doubt you will have an awful lot to think about and plenty of decisions to make. Top of the agenda is taking care of the baby boy and girl in the weeks and months following the birth.

Many had felt that the system for taking leave from work had failed to keep pace with the times and traditional maternity and paternity arrangements did not take into consideration that many dads may want to play a bigger role in caring for the baby.
This was why there was a lot of excitement a few years ago, when the Government announced it was introducing Shared Parental Leave.

How does this work?
Parents can split the 52 weeks of statutory parental leave, receiving some payment for 39 of those weeks.
A key feature of Shared Parental Leave is that it can be taken in several blocks. Eligible parents will be able to make use of a mixture of weeks of work and leave in the first year of their child’s life, returning to work between periods of leave if they wish.
A parent with a partner who adopts a child will have the same rights.

But do enough people know about it?
There are growing concerns that very few mums and dads are making use of the laws which came into force a little over two years ago, possibly unsure whether they are eligible or else put off by the application process.

In fact, a study published this month shows that fewer than one per cent of parents who are entitled to take the leave have done so.

While there have been suggestions that some parents are worried about the impact that the leave could have on their career, there is also speculation that many do not realise the option is on the table.
This means that MPs are likely to face new calls to bang the drum for the policy and help families understand how to apply for Shared Parental Leave and what their rights are.

Learn more about Shared Parental Leave
If you would like to know more about the system for Shared Parental Leave and what options might be available for you, it is always important to seek expert legal advice.
For further information about how we can help please contact our employment law specialist, Jo Yeates, by telephone on 01904 528200 or via her email: jy@hethertons.co.uk

Common myths about Shared Parental Leave

The law on Shared Parental Leave is complicated and much misunderstood. Here are some of the most common misconceptions:

• MYTH: Shared Parental Leave has to be shared between parents
  Despite the name, leave does not have to be shared! The rules allow one parent – mother or father – to take the entire allocation of the leave if they so wish. Some women may prefer to take Shared Parental Leave instead of Maternity Leave because it allows them to take time off in separate ‘chunks’ if they wish.
• MYTH: Both parents need to be employees to qualify
  While the parent who takes the Shared Parental Leave does indeed have to be an employee, the other parent does not. So long as both parents are classed as “economically active”, which includes self-employment, then they will meet the criteria.
• MYTH: Fathers can still take the standard two weeks paternity leave after a period of Shared Parental Leave
  This is not the case. The standard two weeks is called Ordinary Paternity Leave (OPL). If a father wants to take OPL and Shared Parental Leave, he must take the OPL first, otherwise he will lose his entitlement.