Source · Select Committees · Petitions Committee
Recommendation 3
3
Rejected
Parental leave and pay are not unique in having different provisions for employed and self-employed...
Recommendation
Parental leave and pay are not unique in having different provisions for employed and self-employed people, and this is just one area of a complex benefit system. It is however apparent that many of the inequalities are not a reflection of differing circumstances, but more of an oversight by successive governments. In the case of self- employed adoptive parents, and all special guardians, they are getting less support than others. That the current entitlements have been added over a number of years may explain some of these disparities, but it does not remove the challenges posed. There are some discrepancies in the current provisions for parental leave that should be addressed: these include provisions for neonatal leave; self-employed adoptive parents and special guardians. Benefits for self-employed adoptive parents should be equalised to those of other self-employed parents, and parental leave and pay provisions should be extended to special guardians. (Paragraph 22) Support for new parents during Covid-19
Government Response Summary
The government implicitly rejects equalising benefits for self-employed adoptive parents, explaining existing different provisions and discretionary local authority payments. For special guardians, it defers action, stating it has consulted on parental leave reforms and will respond in due course.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
The Government agrees with the Committee that parents need to be able to understand their options when making decisions about the amount of time that they take off work, which parent takes time off work, and about returning to work. GOV.UK contains a wealth of information for prospective and new parents and their employers and this information is rigorously user tested before publication to ensure that it meets user needs. A feedback loop is built into guidance and tools for parents and other users to ensure that the guidance continues to be fit for purpose. This ensures that the guidance is kept under review and that changes and improvements are made if any issues come to light. We have previously explored whether it is possible to put all relevant guidance in one place and ruled this out. Whilst we completely agree with the rationale for having a ‘one stop shop’, in practice this can be confusing for parents who are faced with a lot of detailed information—most of which is not of interest to them or relevant to their particular circumstances. We have, therefore, continued with the format that users are now familiar with, which involves having discrete guidance on a specific topic which signposts users to other guidance which may be of interest to them. For example, the GOV.UK guidance on Maternity Leave not only includes information on other related topics such as other sources of financial support for new parents but signposts users to information on Shared Parental Leave and Unpaid Parental Leave. This guidance can be found at: https://www. gov.uk/maternity-pay-leave/extra-help. GOV.UK also contains guidance on other policies which help parents balance work with their caring responsibilities, such as the right to request flexible working. Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) has also produced specific guidance on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) which includes information for employees who are on, or returning from, family-related leave or have caring responsibilities. Again, this is hosted on GOV.UK. Where the guidance on GOV.UK does not meet the needs of an individual user, they are able to contact the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) who provide tailored, impartial, advice to employers and employees and early conciliation services.