Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 4
4
Accepted in Part
Legislate for a day one right to paid paternity leave in the Employment Rights Bill
Recommendation
A key objective of reform of the paid parental leave system should be to promote equality. Maternity and paternity rights should be as equal as possible, to benefit mothers, fathers and families. We therefore welcome the Government’s intention to legislate for a day one right to paternity leave, in line with rights to maternity leave. A day one right to unpaid paternity leave 56 would be, however, only a limited move towards equality. The Government should either amend the Employment Rights Bill to legislate for a day one right to paid paternity leave or at least commit to consider bringing in this vital change, in consultation with employers, as part of its forthcoming review of the parental leave system. (Recommendation, Paragraph 61)
Government Response Summary
The government commits to legislating for a day one right to unpaid paternity leave but rejects a day one right to paid paternity leave due to practical and financial challenges, stating the parental leave review will consider entitlements holistically.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
The government recognises the importance of equality in parenting, and this is reflected in the terms of reference for the parental leave and pay review. The Employment Rights Bill will make Paternity Leave and Unpaid Parental Leave day one rights, bringing them in line with Maternity Leave and Adoption Leave. This will bring an extra 32,000 fathers or partners into scope of Paternity Leave and an extra 1.5 million parents into scope of Unpaid Parental Leave. We are also removing the requirement that Paternity Leave and Pay must be taken before Shared Parental Leave and Pay so that parents have more flexibility in how they take their leave. It is standard across the parental pay system that statutory pay is conditional on an average earnings test and not available from day one of employment. The only exception is Maternity Allowance, which is a benefit designed to support health and recovery following childbirth for those who don’t qualify for Maternity Pay. Making statutory Paternity Pay or Maternity Pay a “day one” right would raise significant practical and financial challenges as employers would have no earnings data for newly hired employees and may struggle to administer payments fairly and efficiently. We also want to avoid introducing complexity or unintended burdens on business – especially small employers. However, the government recognises that the current system needs to change. The recently launched parental leave and pay review provides an opportunity to consider all parental leave and pay entitlements holistically, rather than introducing piecemeal changes that increase complexities and burdens for employers and employees. Through the review we will reset our approach to parental leave and pay, whilst giving due consideration to balancing costs and benefits to families, businesses and the Exchequer. The government will be engaging with a range of stakeholders, including employers, as part of the review.