Coalition to abandon ‘Edwardian’ maternity leave
Reforms to maternity leave will allow new mothers to share their leave with fathers, Nick Clegg will say later.
The deputy prime minister is expected to announce a consultation on plans to take forward the Labour government’s proposed changes.
It follows a report from the Demos thinktank arguing that a child’s early relationship with its parents has a key impact on social and emotional capabilities.
He is keen to allow up to six months of maternity leave to be shared with fathers, allowing both parents to be off at the same time.
Leave could also be taken in a number of blocks, he is expected to suggest, as he prepares to implement initial changes in April.
“Crucially we’re also looking at what can be done to encourage men to take more leave,” the Telegraph newspaper quoted Mr Clegg as saying.
“Possibly, for example, through use-it-or-lose it blocks reserved for fathers. International evidence shows how important these can be in increasing take-up amongst men.”
At present fathers are only allowed two weeks of paternity leave, compared to six months for a mother.
Mr Clegg is expected to call this system “Edwardian” and argue that “alarm clock Britain” struggles to cope. “Too many of these parents feel trapped by the current rigid rules,” he will say.
The deputy prime minister’s consultation will extend beyond initial changes made this spring. A “proper” system will be introduced from 2015, Mr Clegg added.
Business groups offered a cautious welcome to the proposals, although the CBI warned that parents taking “ad hoc parcels of leave” would make it harder for firms to plan ahead.
Mike Emmott of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) pressed that “flexibility cannot be total”, but said the “broad direction of travel is right”.
Philip Henson of accredited mediator Bargate Murray said that many small business owners had been calling on the “legislative shackles” of existing maternity leave rules to be loosened, however.
“Any efforts to bring in yet more legislation in this complicated area will be a cause of great consternation to the business community,” he said.
“Many will be asking whether, in the current economic malaise, now is the right time to bring in sweeping extensions to paternity leave that would have a disproportionate impact on small businesses by imposing further training and implementation costs.”
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills released a survey of middle-sized businesses indicating that their overall position was improving. Over half reported an increase in turnover in the last year.
