The XX Factor: Take it or leave it – will men share paternal leave?

WE’D like to think we’re progressive enough to share parental leave, but are we up to the challenge?” asked Lyn Ayrton of Lake Legal, nearly a year after Shared Parental Leave reforms were introduced.

Gone are the days when having a child meant women had to leave their careers behind, but that doesn’t mean it’s all plain sailing for women who want to have a family and a career.

European countries such as Sweden offer 16 months’ parental leave which can be divided between both parents, on 80% salary for the first 13 months (up to £3,050 a month).

There, shared parental leave has been in place for around 40 years with 480 days per child to share.

But these ideas have taken decades to filter into Britain – why has it taken so long?

In April 2015, the Government introduced new rules around leave, meaning that now, fathers can share the parental leave of their partners.

Reforms have been in place for nearly a year, and the workplace is changing, retaining talent through flexible work patterns and environments has become a key action for the Government and employers alike.

We have more female managing directors, chief executives and partners than ever before, though we still have a long way to go.

Related article: The XX Factor – women in the boardroom

“Things like parental leave bring out hidden cultural attitudes” said Ms Ayrton, managing partner of specialist family law firm Lake Legal. “But we need to be in a position where you won’t lose out if you do decide to take leave, and also that if you don’t want to take leave, or as much leave, you can share it, and not be criticised as being a bad mother for it.

“Shared Parental Leave brings in some balances,” she said. “We’re at the cusp of big cultural changes, and our laws need to reflect and encourage that.”

Though laws have been introduced, men face the same concerns that women had about choosing to take leave.

Sarah Tahamtani, head of employment at Clarion, shared parental leave with her husband after both her children were born.

She said: “The reality is that you are out of the business for a period of time, and your career is on pause. It doesn’t have to go backwards.”

Ms Tahamtani said that the shift in law and pay should move towards the caregiver, whoever that may be, rather than assuming that this is always the mother.

She added: “The focus is not then a gender issue, but rather one of ensuring preferential treatment for all carers,

“There are still a lot of assumptions made about how parents would like to share their parental responsibilities, together with nervousness about how to best discuss career plans with pregnant employees.”

But bringing these issues to the fore can only happen over time. It relies on women having a higher profile and equal pay in the workplace so that their starting position is the same as their male counterparts.

Increasing the number of female FTSE 100 directors, said Ms Tahamtani, and having more leading businesswomen will push this to the fore.

She said: “You’ll find self-employed and entrepreneurial women, who don’t have that statutory option or benefit, have a lot less maternity leave indicating perhaps that the decision is heavily influenced by pay.”

Under the new legislation, men can take up to six months of what would have previously been the mother’s leave.

“The question is,” said Ms Ayrton, “are you going to get men taking up Shared Parental Leave?”

Edward Heaton of Mills and ReeveEdward Heaton of Mills & Reeve is a family lawyer. He took paternity leave when his wife went back to work after eight months, spending a month with his child.

He said: “You come across very different roles within families now and we are moving in the right direction. “That said, fathers do remain in the minority in the playground and some people are still surprised by them taking a more active role in childcare.”

This remains rooted in traditional perceptions that men go to work, and women stay home and look after any children.

Mr Heaton added: “I would recommend sharing parental leave, but I think that it is something that may yet take a while to become more mainstream.

“There are any number of reasons why one might not choose to do it (perhaps most notably financial) but, for me personally, it worked out very well, and I was pleased to have the opportunity to spend some quality time with our little one.”

Ms Tahamtani (pictured right) shared leave with her husband, who is also a lawyer. She said: “It works for us because we have similar careers which we have both worked hard to develop. Sarah Tahamtani head of employment of Clarion

“Dynamics are changing with parental responsibility and it can’t be assumed that the mother wants to be the primary carer, choosing not to focus or drive her career.

“Furthermore, it gives the father one-to-one time with the child that you won’t ever be able to have again.

“Dads are involved on a level they weren’t before, all the way through the pregnancy and birth.

“They are surrounded by other dads as well and this makes being and wanting to be involved more acceptable. “

With expectations that men should be more present in their lives, Shared Parental Leave has become more important in the division of labour in the home, and at work.

But another obstacle has surfaced.

The Fawcett Society has calculated that women earn on average 13.9% less than men. This has an impact on Shared Parental Leave as it only makes financial sense if the mother earns more of the same as the father.

With women getting leave of six weeks at 90% of their salary, with sometimes enhanced pay for 39 weeks after, and men only receiving statutory pay after two weeks, it still doesn’t make financial sense for a new father to take leave.

Prior to April last year, men only had two weeks of statutory pay available.

So even if the mother and father were in the same financial position (which is becoming more likely but is still not often the case) it would make better financial sense for the father to go back to work, unless the mother was earning considerably more.

Mr Heaton finished: “I think Shared Parental Leave is a step in the right direction – there shouldn’t be expectation that the roles within the family should be divided in a traditional sense, but we have a way to go to get out of these mindsets.”

If you would like to get involved in a future XX Factor: women in business column, email clare.burnett@thebusinessdesk.com.

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