[IER] Have a say on shared parental leave and flexible working

[Carolyn Starr]

<http://www.ier.org.uk/news/shared-parental-leave-and-flexible-working-open-
first-ever-public-reading>
http://www.ier.org.uk/sites/ier.org.uk/files/images/Logo.GIFShared parental
leave and flexible working open to the first ever public readingSubmitted by
sglenister <http://www.ier.org.uk/user/2400>  on Wed, 20/02/2013 - 13:53


20 February 2013

The government has set its first ever public reading in motion, allowing
anyone to comment on its proposals online before they are debated in
parliament. Don't miss this chance to have your say on Coalition plans for
shared parental leave and flexible working and read on to find out how the
Children and Families Bill, which these proposals are a part of, has been
criticised.


The deadline for public comments is 26th February 2013


Moves to provide shared parental leave for mothers and fathers, and to
extend the right to request flexible working conditions to all employees,
are a step in the right direction, but it may not shock regular readers that
the Coalition's proposals for these new rights are too weak to be truly
effective and have been criticised by many childcare and equality experts.


Statutory rights to leave and pay


The government's explanatory notes on Statutory Rights to Leave and Pay
state:

The provisions will create a new employment right to shared parental leave
and statutory shared parental pay for eligible working parents. Women will
continue to be eligible for maternity leave and statutory maternity pay or
allowance in the same way that they are currently. If they choose to bring
their leave and pay or allowance to an early end, eligible working parents
will be able to share up to the balance of the remaining leave and pay as
shared parental leave and pay. Eligible adopters will also be able to use
the new system for shared parental leave and pay. Adoption leave and pay
will be extended to prospective parents in the fostering-to-adopt system,
and parents in a surrogacy arrangement who are eligible, and intend to apply
for, a parental order.

What these notes do not make clear is that fathers will only have the right
to:

.         Take leave as of six weeks after the birth of the child

.         Receive the statutory pay for parental leave, which is less than
minimum wage

In addition, both parents can only take flexible leave according to the
following rules:

.         Leave must be taken in weekly blocks

.         The employer can still request that leave is taken in a single
block


Criticism of these proposals


.         Fathers are not able to take parental leave from Day One (i.e. the
birth of the child), which means they are only able to take unpaid leave to
be present at the birth. They are then not able to take any paid leave for a
further six weeks

.         Only working parents are eligible, so if one parent is unemployed,
the parental leave cannot be shared.

.         Family members other than the parent are not eligible, so if a
single mother falls ill and is unable to cope with full-time childcare, a
relative would not be able to take paid parental leave to look after the
child.

.         The pay for fathers is at less than minimum wage, locking many
families out of shared parental leave as they will not be able to afford it.

.         It may be difficult for families to negotiate weekly blocks of
leave between two sets of employers

.         Childcare may be difficult to schedule into weekly blocks

.         Those hoping to work part-time and share part-time parental leave
will not be able to

.         Employers may find it difficult to arrange cover for weekly
blocks, and thus may be more likely to demand that leave is taken in a
single block, vastly reducing the flexibility for parents, which is the
purpose of this Bill


Comment on these proposals as part of the government's Public Reading


 
<http://www.parliament.uk/business/bills-and-legislation/public-reading/chil
dren-and-families-bill/parental-leave-and-pay/> Click here to provide a
comment to MPs on this part of the Bill and read the comments of other
members of public


Time off work


The Coalition states that the Children and Families Bill "creates a new
right for employees and qualifying agency workers to take unpaid time off
work to attend up to two ante-natal appointments with a pregnant woman. The
right is available to the pregnant woman's husband, civil partner or
partner, the father or parent of the pregnant woman's child, and intended
parents in a surrogacy situation who meet specified conditions. Provision is
made for paid and unpaid time off work for adopters to attend meetings in
advance of a child being placed with them for adoption."

What is not made clear in the government's explanatory notes is:

.         For each appointment, only 6.5 hours of paid leave can be taken


Criticism of these proposals


.         Women may suffer a complicated pregnancy, in which case two
appointments, with 6.5 hours provided for each, may prove insufficient time
for fathers and intended parents to accompany pregnant women to
appointments.

.         Intended parents in a surrogacy situation may have to travel long
distances in order to visit pregnant women and accompany them to antenatal
appointments, in which case 6.5 hours is too restrictive


Comment on these proposals as part of the government's Public Reading


 
<http://www.parliament.uk/business/bills-and-legislation/public-reading/chil
dren-and-families-bill/time-off-work/> Click here to provide a comment to
MPs on this part of the Bill and read the comments of other members of
public


Flexible Working


The government's notes on these proposals state:

[The Bill] provides for the expansion of the right to request flexible
working from employees who are parents or carers to all employees, and the
removal of the statutory process that employers must currently follow when
considering requests for flexible working. The Government's policy reforms
for the right to request flexible working are set out in its paper Modern
Workplaces - Government Response on Flexible Working (November 2012). This
Part sets out the statutory provisions to support those reforms. Changes
will enable employees to consider requests using their existing HR processes
instead of having to follow a statutory procedure. These clauses amend the
Employment Rights Act 1996. A statutory Code of Practice will be consulted
on and published by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service
(ACAS) to explain what the minimum requirements are in order to consider a
request in a reasonable manner. The Code of practice will be issued using
powers in the Trade Union Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.


Criticism of these proposals


.         The right to request flexible working is already a very weak right
for workers, as there request can still easily be turned down.

.         Any employee that becomes an employee-owner will not be able to
access these rights

.         The Coalition's view on flexible working and how far it will back
the benefits of this proposal are confused by its concurrent introduction of
employee-ownership, which includes forsaking the right to request flexible
working. This makes the government's rejection of current procedures and
replacement with a duty to take "reasonable" consideration of an employee's
request potentially worrying, as it is not yet clear what the Coalition
considers to be "reasonable".


Comment on these proposals as part of the government's Public Reading


 
<http://www.parliament.uk/business/bills-and-legislation/public-reading/chil
dren-and-families-bill/flexible-working/> Click here to provide a comment to
MPs on this part of the Bill and read the comments of other members of
public


Sources


This information is in large part a summary of the
<http://www.workingfamilies.org.uk/articles/new-thinking/policy/0-1-children
-and-families-bill-second-reading-briefing> excellent briefing notes put
together by Working Families

 

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