There’s no point crying over 'split' leave
As of this year, parents can share leave following the birth or adoption of their child*. However, of the employers who have a SPL policy in place, only 17% said they had received applications from their employees (source: The HR Director). This could be attributed to lack of promotion of SPL as an option.
Over the summer months a number of headlines revealed a shift in attitude toward shared parental responsibility with one high profile CEO** taking shorter maternity leave and trends in Australia and USA showing that there has been a spike in terms of numbers of men taking SPL.
All this suggests that SPL is set to become an increasingly popular choice. Dipa says: “Our experience of talking with clients shows they think take-up of SPL will be low as the gender roles are so deeply entrenched within our culture.
“However, we feel that UK employers need to take proactive steps to promote the policy changes, which could not only help retain key talented staff by demonstrating forward thinking flexibility, but also help achieve true gender diversity in the long run.
“SPL is a step in the right direction in equalizing the imbalanced approach to working mothers, fathers, partners and adoptive parents, challenging outdated stereotypes and workplaces polices. It also offers greater flexibility and choice over how children are cared for in the first year of life, whilst allowing parents to continue with their careers (and potentially progression plans).
To retain key skilled people and to offer true choice, employers can embrace this change in a positive way. In the long run it may also help towards greater gender diversity in the board room. To make these changes work within your organisations your leadership needs to embrace and communicate these changes at all levels.
“Perhaps true equality can only be achieved through equality at home and by providing leaders of the future role models who are not defined by gender.”
*The Shared Parental Leave Regulations 2014
This article was provided by Lane Clark & Peacock LLP. Click here to view the original article.
