Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 17
17
Acknowledged
Consider financial incentives, like overseas 'bonuses', to increase Shared Parental Leave take-up.
Conclusion
The Government’s review must consider financial incentives to increase take up of SPL. The review should examine approaches taken in overseas systems, including the German “partnership bonus” and Portugal’s “sharing 59 bonus”, which provide additional paid leave to couples in which both parents take a substantial portion of leave while the other returns to paid work. (Recommendation, Paragraph 94) Extending access to paid leave
Government response summary AI-generated
The government confirms that the proposal to extend paternity leave, and its associated economic analysis, is being considered as part of the parental leave and pay review, which will conduct a robust assessment of costs and benefits for any policy options.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government · verbatim extract
Acknowledged
Shared Parental Leave was introduced in 2015 to allow families to more equally split childcare and allow fathers to spend a significant period of time with their child should the family wish. The Shared Parental Leave evaluation report, commissioned in 2019, assessed whether the implementation of Shared Parental Leave achieved its original objectives. Parents have reported benefits for their work-life balance, including more choice and flexibility over balancing work and caring arrangements, and encouraging parents to share childcare responsibilities. Through the Employment Rights Bill we will remove the requirement that Paternity Leave and Pay must be taken before Shared Parental Leave, so that parents have more flexibility in how they take their leave. However, the government recognises that take up and awareness of Shared Parental Leave among employees is low and welcomes the committee’s specific recommendations in relation to Shared Parental Leave. Along with all other existing parental leave and pay entitlements, Shared Parental Leave is in scope of the parental leave and pay review. The review will expand our existing evidence base to understand what is and what is not working well for families and employers and consider opportunities for simplifying the system. The review represents an opportunity to reset our approach to parental leave and pay and what we want the system to achieve; a consideration of Shared Parental Leave will be key to this. This will include looking at international models, such as those highlighted by the committee, and drawing on stakeholder expertise to form recommendations and a roadmap of any proposed reforms.
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