Parental policies Strategic HR
taking advantage of it. Low take-up is said to
be partly due to the complexity of the system,
but it’s more likely the barrier is financial.
“Statutory maternity pay is more
generous than statutory pay for
Shared Parental Leave, and while
many employers enhance
maternity pay it is much less
common for Shared Parental Pay
to be similarly enhanced,” explains
Grace Malone, a senior associate
in the employment team at
Burges Salmon.
As such it often makes financial
sense for the birth mother to stay
on maternity leave and the second
parent to work.
Until such a time as all family leave types
are paid equally, some organisations have
taken matters into their own hands. Since SPL
was introduced the PPF has offered fathers the
same rights as mothers and fostered a culture
where they feel supported to use the benefit.
As a result, 50% of fathers at the PPF took
advantage of their enhanced entitlements in
the past year.
Likewise, Lloyds Banking Group has
boosted its family leave. Up to 20 weeks at full
pay is available for partners who have been
allocated remaining maternity or adoption
pay. This has resulted in a 20% surge in SPL
take-up at Lloyds.
Flexibility
The right to request flexible working, which
was introduced in 2003 for the parents of
children aged under six and certain other
carers, has since been extended to any person
working for the same employer for at least
26 weeks.
Gloster comments that: “Flexible working
has the key benefits of increasing wellbeing
and work/life balance, reducing the gender
pay gap, enabling both parents to share
childcare and retaining staff during
transitions in life.
“But giving flexibility of hours to one
person might affect the workload of others.
So it is important to consider the effects
on teams and ways of working. Line
managers need to be trained and have the
skills and confidence to manage people
working flexibly.”
There is a strong demand for this to be
the default option for all employees – except
where employers have a ‘good reason’ to the
contrary. Presently, default flexible working is
still subject to government consultation and
comes with a wealth of implementationrelated
challenges.
As early
examples, the PPF has
seen 80% of its team either
working from home or enjoying
altered start or finish times.
Ninety-one per cent of those at
Lloyds Banking Group – where
53% have parental or caring
responsibilities – say they have
the flexibility to meet their
The idea
of what
constitutes
family life
is changing.
Employers
must keep
pace
needs while fulfilling work commitments.
Fertility leave
“While medical treatment is progressing all
the time, employment law is not keeping
pace in the same way,” suggests Malone.
“Currently there is no express right to leave,
paid or otherwise, for an employee who is
undertaking or whose partner is undertaking
fertility treatment – unless the statutory sick
pay regime applies.”
Many employers take a pragmatic and
compassionate approach in these
circumstances – Goldman Sachs, for example,
will fund $10,000 of IVF treatment – but this
relies on employees being up-front about
their medical status, which they may not want
to be. In addition, it is a long process that can
give rise to complications. So what do the
legal experts recommend?
“A good place to start is to reference
your approach to fertility treatment in your
family leave policy so employees have an
outline of the support they can expect,”
advises Malone.
“Being transparent about your approach
should also encourage employees to have an
open dialogue with their manager or HR if
they are starting an IVF process. But bear in
mind that no two circumstances will be the
same, so it is important that any policies allow
for flexibility.”
Sodexo Engage marketing director Jamie
Mackenzie is passionate about fertility
leave: “Those who struggle to conceive
can feel isolated in the workplace, while
expectant and working parents benefit from
various allowances.”
He continues: “Law firm Allen & Overy is
getting it right. It offers five days of paid leave
a year for fertility treatment, allowing those
undergoing treatments like IVF the time
Flexible
working:
Five fast facts
1People working fl exibly (54%)
has plateaued in the past
10 years
277% of those who work
fl exibly say they are more
productive as a result
3Flexibility is the top priority for
84% of working parents
when job hunting
456% of women feel
responsible for fi nancially
providing for their families
5Just 11% of men say that
their boss is comfortable with
them taking unexpected days off
to deal with child sickness
Sources: CIPD/Talking Talent/Utopia/The
Hobbs Consultancy
needed to attend appointments and cope
with the emotional stress before returning
to work.”
The bottom line
“The idea of what constitutes family life is
changing,” confirms Mackenzie. “Employers
must keep pace or risk alienating new talent
and existing staff looking for the most
inclusive policies.”
Easter recommends instilling a highly
supportive culture: “We encourage our line
managers, supported by the HR team, to
exercise discretion. To support them to make
decisions that are in the best interests of our
people, our line managers are expected to
manage their direct report in terms of tasks
but also relate to them as individuals.
“But I’m not sure it’s just about parents,”
she continues.
“People have increasingly complicate d
responsibilities, including looking after
the ageing population, and workplaces need
to be flexible about when and how the work
is done. I think this calls for the ability to
treat people as individuals whose specific
circumstances are understood, which will
in turn encourage them to be more
understanding of what the organisation is
trying to achieve and their part in it.” HR
hrmagazine.co.uk April 2020 HR 43
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