The government has announced a “landmark” review of the time off and pay available to new parents after the birth of a child.
This review aims to modernize the system for paternity, maternity, and shared parental leave, which has been neglected for many years according to campaigners.
The Dad Shift, a campaign group, sees this review as the “best opportunity in a generation” to improve the system and make it more beneficial for working families.
A recent report by a committee of MPs described the UK’s parental leave system as “one of the worst in the developed world” with significant flaws.
Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith warned that imposing additional costs on employers could result in job losses.
The Women and Equalities Committee’s report in June highlighted the need for bold action to address these flaws, but also cautioned that significant investment would be required for any changes.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds acknowledged that both parents and businesses have been calling for a review of the system, stating that there has not been a serious review of parental leave in the UK for several decades.
Reynolds also invited individuals with strong opinions on the matter to get involved in the review process.
However, the shadow business secretary emphasized that having a job in the first place is crucial, as no amount of family leave will matter if one is unemployed.
The government’s review will focus on statutory leave, which is the minimum amount of leave that employers are legally required to provide and is funded by the government. Some companies choose to supplement this with their own funds.
Statutory maternity leave allows most new mothers and birthing parents to take up to 52 weeks off work.
During the first six weeks, statutory maternity pay provides 90% of a person’s average weekly earnings, before tax. For the following 33 weeks, it pays either £187.18 per week or 90% of their average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
Mothers who are self-employed or earn less than £125 per week are not eligible for statutory maternity pay.
Introduced in 2003, statutory paternity leave allows most new fathers and second parents in the UK to take up to two weeks off work. This also applies to all partners, regardless of gender, after the birth, surrogacy, or adoption of a child. Eligible individuals receive £187.18 per week or 90% of their average earnings, whichever is lower, for these two weeks.
However, this amounts to less than 50% of the National Living Wage, which is the minimum amount that employers are legally required to pay anyone aged 21 and over.
Self-employed fathers or those earning less than £125 per week are not entitled to statutory paternity leave and pay.
Shared parental leave, introduced in 2014, allows parents to share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay after the birth or adoption of a child.
In announcing the review of the entire parental leave system, the government acknowledged that take-up of shared parental leave is very low and that one in three fathers do not take paternity leave due to financial constraints.
The Dad Shift campaign’s co-founder George Gabriel believes that while paternity leave was groundbreaking when it was first introduced by the Labour government, it has become the least generous in Europe due to a lack of updates since then. He is pleased with the review and hopeful for meaningful change to come.
Rachel Grocott, CEO of the charity Pregnant Then Screwed, believes that improving the overall parental leave system will help close the gender pay gap and give children a better start in life. She sees investing in the system as a logical decision.