| The government has
announced more details of shared parental
leave arrangements designed to help
families balance work and life
commitments. Announcing the plans,
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said:
“Despite the fact fathers can request
flexible working, many feel reluctant to
do so. And, when a child is born, men are
still only entitled to a paltry two weeks
of paternity leave.
“These rules patronise women and
marginalise men. So in the coming weeks we
will be launching a consultation on a new
properly flexible system of shared
parental leave that we aim to introduce in
2015.”
As an interim measure, Additional
Paternity Leave and Pay regulations agreed
by the last government will cover parents
of children due on or after 3 April 2011.
Eligible fathers will be able to take
up to 26 weeks’ additional paternity
leave. The leave may be paid if taken
during the period of the mother or
partner’s Statutory Maternity Pay,
Maternity Allowance or Statutory Adoption
Pay. Leave taken after this period has
ended would be unpaid.
Paid leave is payable at 90 per cent of
earnings up to the same standard rate as
Statutory Maternity Pay, which is
currently £124.88 per week (rising to
£128.73 from April).
Employed mothers currently receive up
to 52 weeks of maternity leave, 39 of them
paid.
LINK:
Parental rights at work |
