Statutory Rights to Leave and Pay

(9)
Regulations under section 75E may— .
(a)
provide for an employer, subject to such restrictions as may be
specified, to require an employee who proposes to take non-
40consecutive periods of leave under section 75E to take that
amount of leave as a single period of leave; .
(b)
provide for a single period of leave that is so imposed on an
employee to start with a day proposed by the employee or, if no
day is proposed, with the first day of the first period of leave
45proposed by the employee. .
(10)
Regulations under section 75E may provide for the variation, subject to
such restrictions as may be specified, of— .
(a)
the period or periods during which an amount of leave under
section 75E may be taken; .

I disagree with the above clauses as flexibility enables mothers to stay in employment. The more vulnerable you are as a new mother the greater protection you need.

What good is any of this if the father is only permitted to take leave 6 weeks after the child's birth and then it is only to be paid at the statutory parental leave rate.

Drilling down to the details of these proposals shows that the so called "new entitlements" are very restrictive, thereby limiting effectiveness. This will create frustration rather than feelings of liberation/choice.
'Something's better than nothing' is a very low aspiration for law makers! Get it right!

My concern is particularly around the blocks of 1 week. It is not flexible enough. If someone needs only 1 day that have to take a week of unpaid leave. That is not fair and it also means that the employer is losing out.

How exactly can you warrant that the dad cannot take leave until 6 weeks after the baby is born, this is when it is most important for Dad to bond with the baby. Not only that but the mum needs help during this time, the dad needs to be there to keep an eye on both and ensure everything is ok.

Yet again more hot air and bluster with the usual fanfare from this government. In reality, too many loop-holes with only a few supportive employers probably sticking to the the spirit of it.

I think it is great that we are hopefully introducing shared parental leave. This has huge implications for women in the workplace and correctly recognises that childcare is a family issue not a woman's issue. Men increasingly want to be involved in child care and it is not fair that they do not have sufficient provisions to allow them to be 'stay-at-home-dads' as women do. I am very happy this ammendment is being proposed! Thanks

I fully support the move towards shared parental leave.

There is no doubt that it will take some time for a cultural shift to take hold where fathers take more than a couple of weeks of parental leave, but this is an incredibly important first step. In some cases we need Parliament to take the first step to help foster social change in society (for example, with the smoking ban), and I strongly believe that this is one of those times.

As a married woman in my late twenties I am acutely aware that a man of the same age with the same experience is a much more attractive option to a potential employer than me. We all know that maternity leave has a disruptive impact in the workplace. Losing any member of staff for up to nine months will.

All I would like is for a prospective employer to consider the ‘risk’ of me taking a few months of as similar to the risk of a man taking time off too.

I suspect that take up to begin with will be fairly low. However that will not mean that the policy has not been a success. This is about putting young working women on an equal footing with their male counterparts, and importantly giving couples a choice about childcare in those early formative months in a child’s life.

During the passage of this Bill you will hear arguments about how this policy will be disastrous in the workplace, and will cost employers considerable amounts of money. This argument only stacks up if you believe that (a) men are more effective, efficient, and generally better all round than women in the workplace and (b) if men earn more than women (of child bearing age).

From a straw poll of my friends (largely late twenties, university educated, in professional roles), the vast majority of my female friends actually earn more than their boyfriends or husbands. It is only when we start hitting our early thirties and start having children that our careers and earning potential take a nose dive.

This policy will go some way to start addressing this issue. That is why this is such an important step, and deserves cross-party support.