Shared parental leave depends on peer positivity, says survey
Shared parental leave is about to become a reality. But its success may not come down to how well you communicate your policy or the strength of your organisational culture. In fact, it’s peer pressure that could prove most important.
The Shared Parental Leave (SPL) Regulations 2014 will come into force on 1 December and apply to those with babies born, or children adopted, on or after 5 April 2015. The new rights will allow parents to share leave between them up to a combined maximum of 50 weeks. Mothers will still need to take two weeks’ maternity leave.
But in a survey by law firm Linklaters, 50 per cent of men said that if their male colleagues opted not to take shared parental leave, it would influence them to follow suit. “There’s been quite a bit of data suggesting men are expecting stronger parental rights than in previous years,” says Simon Kerr-Davis, senior employment lawyer at Linklaters. “To suddenly get a bit of data that says, ‘Actually, I’m more worried about what my male colleagues are doing’ is quite interesting.”
The survey questioned 250 FTSE 100 employees, equally split between men and women. They had either had a baby within the last two years or were expecting to become parents within the next six months. Survey respondents rated the opportunity for fathers to spend more time with their child as one of the most attractive advantages of the legislation.
But their concerns around the realities of SPL adds to previous research by charity Working Families, which found that fathers, especially younger ones, held more ‘resentment’ towards their employers around work-life balance than mothers.
“I think we’ve reached a point where men are showing they want to be involved in family life in a different and more active way,” says Kerr-Davis. “The law is reflecting that.”
The Linklaters survey also found that 63 per cent of employees were ‘interested’ or ‘very interested’ in taking up SPL; notably greater than the 2-8 per cent take-up the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills outlined in its impact assessment.
“Anecdotally, I knew men in particular are becoming aware of the right because it’s received a higher degree of publicity than previous family-friendly rights,” says Kerr-Davis. “But I was surprised to see the figure was over 60 per cent.”