A year into Shared Parental Leave in the UK
Shared Parental Leave Report
Employees Survey March 2016
Shared Parental Leave Report
Contents Introduction.......................................................................... 1 Acknowledgements............................................................... 1 Methodology......................................................................... 2 Glossary................................................................................ 3 Participants............................................................................ 4 Findings................................................................................. 6 Knowledge of SPL and its benefits......................................... 6 SPL support from employers.............................................. 7 Barriers to SPL................................................................... 8 Parenting in the past year................................................... 9 Expectant parents............................................................ 11 Flexible Working............................................................... 12 Grandparental Leave........................................................ 14 Key findings (Infographic)..................................................... 16
Shared Parental Leave Report
Introduction Totaljobs is one of the UK’s leading jobs boards, attracting around 6 million jobseekers every month. One of totaljobs’ key areas of focus is raising awareness of the challenges facing jobseekers and employees across society. This survey was designed to gather information about the UK workforce and their attitudes toward time off when welcoming a child, nearly one year after the introduction of Shared Parental Leave. It allows parents to share up to 50 weeks between them after welcoming a child to their family.
The survey aims to understand how the Shared Parental Leave right has been used by new parents and will be used by expecting parents. The survey also aims to uncover what employers provide employees to help inform the decision when having a child and to get a sense of employees’ awareness towards the policy and their rights. We hope that the findings of this report will be welcomed by families and HR departments across the country.
It is anticipated that the survey will help grasp what’s necessary for employers to support parents in welcoming and bringing up their children while managing their work life.
For a summary of the key findings, please go to section 6. Acknowledgements Many thanks to the 628 participants who completed the survey and to those individuals and organisations who supported the project by disseminating information about the survey.
Special thanks go to:
ChannelMum DadBlogUK DadOnLeave DiaryOfTheDad ManVsPink
MumPlusBusiness MyPetitCanard TalentedLadiesClub TheDadventurer TheDadNetwork
Apologies to anyone missed off the list. 1
Shared Parental Leave Report
Methodology a) Survey design: Participants were encouraged to take part mainly through a technique of snowballing sampling. Parenting organisations, bloggers and online forums were contacted, given information about the study and asked to share the survey as widely as possible. Existing national research on Shared Parental Leave experiences was explored in order to inform the creation of the survey questions.
A draft survey was produced and sent to an advisory group made up of parents, expectant parents, HR professionals, eDigital Research and other relevant interested parties. After redrafting and feedback from the advisory group, the survey was uploaded to eDigital Research and published on 12 February, 2016.
b) The report: The survey closed on 4 March, 2016. By the close of the survey, 628 participants had accessed it. This report consists primarily of percentages, to simply present and summarise the vast quantity of data. Complete data tables for each question were not included in the text due to their size and complexity. As different numbers of people completed different questions, the actual number of data being reported
on for each question will be noted in the text as ‘N’. For example if 100 people completed a question and we report that 50% of those answered ‘yes’, the 50% figure will be accompanied with (N=100) to show how many respondents this figure is based on. Where quotes from participants are used, spelling mistakes have been corrected for ease of reading. The actual texts are available on request.
c) Limitations: We are mindful that the sample may not be demographically representative of the population as a whole. There is no way of knowing for sure how representative this sample is. We did not solicit responses from people who were not currently
expecting, but might consider having children in the future. While some respondents match that description, we cannot consider this sample a large enough demographic to draw conclusions, for the purposes of this study.
2
Shared Parental Leave Report
Glossary Some of the terms used within this report (either by the authors or the participants) has been explained below.
• Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
is payable if the employee has been employed continuously for at least 26 weeks ending with the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth, and has an average weekly earnings at least equal to the lower earnings limit for National Insurance contributions. SMP is payable for 39 weeks.
• Maternity Allowance
Women who do not qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay may be entitled to Maternity Allowance, paid by the Benefits Agency, for up to 39 weeks. To qualify, they must have been employed or self-employed for 26 of the 66 weeks before the expected week of childbirth.
• Statutory Maternity Leave (SML)
is 52 weeks. It’s made up of Ordinary Maternity Leave - first 26 weeks, and Additional Maternity Leave - final 26 weeks. Mothers must take 2 weeks of leave after their baby is born (or 4 weeks for those working in a factory).
• Shared Parental Leave (SPL)
enables eligible mothers, fathers, partners and adopters to choose how to share time off work after their child is born or placed. This could mean that the mother or adopter shares some of the leave with her partner, for up to 50 weeks, on top of the compulsory 2 weeks after birth.
• Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP)
A parent must pass the continuity of employment test and have earned an average salary of at least the lower earnings limit of £111 for the 8 weeks prior to the 15th week before the expected due date or matching date. The other parent in the family also must meet the employment and earnings test.
• Grandparental Leave
From 2018, under the Shared Parental Leave scheme, grandparents will be able to share up to 50 weeks of leave with their child in order to care for their grandchildren in the first year after birth or placement for adoption.
3
Participants Shared Parental Leave Report
Totaljobs surveyed 628 people across the UK over the course of 3 weeks about their knowledge of and experience with Shared Parental Leave.
We surveyed...
Their situation
622 people
52.41% male
47.59% female
Overall (621)
Male (323)
Female (295)
Single
26.73%
26.63%
26.44%
Married
41.55%
47.68%
34.92%
Co-habiting
22.06%
18.58%
26.10%
Separated, but still legally married
1.61%
0.93%
2.37%
Divorced
3.54%
1.86%
5.42%
Widowed
0.48%
0.62%
0.34%
Civil Partnership
1.93%
1.86%
2.03%
Prefer not to say
2.09%
1.86%
2.37%
Their age n = 624 Overall
16–24
25–34
35–44
45–54
55–64
65+
14.46% 17.01%
31.08% 37.41%
32.92% 25.17%
15.69% 14.97%
4.92% 4.42%
0.31% 0.68%
Male Female
15.54%
33.97%
29.33%
15.54%
4.65%
0.48%
0.48% of those surveyed prefered not to say (0.62% of men and 0.34% of women)
Their location
n = 614
Total North-East (3.42%) 5.36% 1.37%
Male Female
Scotland (6.35%) 6.62% 6.16% Northern Ireland (1.14%) 1.26% 1.03% Wales (3.75%) 3.47% 4.11%
EU exc. UK (1.47%)
2.21% 0.68%
Europe non-EU (0%) 0% 0%
Rest of the World (2.12%)
2.84% 1.37%
Yorkshire and the Humberside (6.68%) 4.73% 7.88% East Midlands (7.49%) 5.99% 8.90% East Anglia (5.21%) 4.42% 6.16% Central and Greater London (22.15%) 20.19% 24.66% South-West (8.79%) 9.15% 8.22%
4
Shared Parental Leave Report
Industry
Overall (617)
Male (321)
Female (292)
Accountancy / Banking / Finance / Insurance
5.02%
6.23%
3.08%
Administration
7.13%
2.80%
11.99%
Advertising / Creative / Digital / Media
4.21%
3.12%
5.48%
Aerospace
0.81%
1.56%
0.00%
Apprenticeships / Graduate
0.49%
0.31%
0.68%
Automotive
1.62%
2.80%
0.34%
Catering / Hospitality
4.38%
4.67%
3.77%
Charity / Not for profit 3.24%
3.12%
3.42%
Construction / Engineering
5.02%
8.41%
Customer service / Call centre
3.40%
3.74%
Job level
Overall (620)
Male (321)
Female (294)
Entry
16.29%
18.38%
14.29%
Non-manager
34.03%
29.91%
38.10%
Manager
25.97%
32.40%
18.71%
Director
2.42%
2.80%
2.04%
Business Owner
4.52%
3.43%
5.78%
Other (please specify) 5.16%
5.30%
5.10%
N/A
11.61%
7.79%
15.99%
Overall (618)
Male (321)
Female (292)
11.33%
9.03%
14.04%
1.37%
I do not receive an annual income Less than £10,000
10.84%
9.66%
11.99%
3.08%
£10,000 - £19,999
24.92%
24.30%
26.03%
£20,000 - £29,999
17.80%
18.38%
17.47%
£30,000 - £39,999
12.46%
14.95%
9.25%
£40,000 - £49,999
6.80%
7.79%
5.48%
Salary
Education / Teaching / 7.78% Social work
7.17%
8.56%
FMCG
0.81%
0.62%
1.03%
£50,000 - £59,999
3.07%
3.12%
2.74%
Healthcare / Nursing / 6.16% Pharmaceutical
3.43%
9.25%
£60,000 - £69,999
1.29%
1.25%
1.37%
HR
3.40%
2.18%
4.79%
£70,000 - £99,999
2.10%
3.12%
1.03%
IT
5.35%
7.17%
3.08%
£100,000 - £124,999
0.16%
0.31%
0.00%
Legal
0.65%
0.31%
1.03%
£125,000 - £149,999
0.49%
0.62%
0.34%
Leisure / Tourism
1.13%
0.93%
1.37%
More than £150,000
0.49%
0.62%
0.34%
Logistics
2.43%
4.36%
0.34%
Prefer not to say
8.25%
6.85%
9.93%
Management consultancy
0.81%
0.62%
1.03%
Manufacturing
2.76%
3.74%
1.71%
Marketing
2.43%
2.80%
2.05%
PA / Secretarial
0.32%
0.00%
0.68%
Part-time / Temporary 1.46%
1.56%
1.37%
PR
0.49%
0.31%
0.68%
Property
0.49%
0.62%
0.34%
Public sector
2.92%
3.12%
2.74%
Recruitment sales
0.49%
0.31%
0.68%
Retail
6.16%
5.30%
7.19%
Sales
2.59%
2.49%
2.74%
Science
1.62%
1.25%
2.05%
Senior appointments
0.00%
0.00%
0.00%
Transport / Travel
1.13%
2.18%
0.00%
Utilities / Telecoms / Oil and Gas / Renewable Energy
1.62%
2.80%
0.34%
Other (please specify)
4.05%
4.67%
3.42%
Prefer not to say
7.62%
5.30%
10.27%
Shared Parental Leave Report
Findings Included in our findings is the answer data for each question, and where relevant, anonymous quotes from survey respondents that reflect the range of experiences and opinions.
Knowledge of SPL and its benefits Which of the following statements below best describes you? Overall (622)
Male (296)
Female (326)
I know about SPL and what this means for me
37.14%
40.80%
33.11%
I have heard of SPL but I don’t really know much about it
40.03%
37.42%
42.91%
I haven’t heard of SPL before
22.83%
21.78%
23.99%
If you were to consider taking shared parental leave, what do you think the main benefit(s) would be to you? n = 1940 It would allow me to be present for my child early on
It would allow my partner to return to work quicker
100% Male 100%
Female 100%
It would help me save money on my childcare
It would help me balance work and family life
72%
93%
59% Male 59.82%
Female 57.33%
Male 66.73%
Female 78.50%
Male 90.56%
Female 95.63%
Shared Parental Leave Report
SPL support from employers Does your employer offer enhanced parental pay for SPL? n = 628 overall (Male: 326 / Female: 296)
Yes 7.96%
Male 9.82%
No 27.07%
Female 6.08%
Male 28.53%
Female 25.68%
I don’t know 64.96%
Male 61.66%
Female 68.24%
Has your employer given you any of the following regarding Shared Parental Leave? n = 628 (Male: 326 / Female: 296) Support and guidance about SPL Overall
Male
Female
8.60%
12.27%
33.11%
Resources related to SPL Overall
Male
Female
6.69%
9.51%
3.38%
Information related to SPL Overall
Male
Female
18.15%
19.33%
16.55%
None of the above Overall
Male
Female
74.36%
71.78%
78.04% 7
Shared Parental Leave Report
Barriers to SPL How important do you think the following factors are in preventing parents from taking advantage of SPL? Not important Male (n)
Female
Not very important or unimportant
Overall
Male
Female
Overall
Important Male
Female
Overall
319
290
615
319
290
615
319
290
615
Complexity of the policy
3.90%
16.90%
15.45%
25.39%
19.31%
22.60%
61.13%
63.79%
61.95%
Lack of awareness
4.07%
7.90%
8.46%
15.72%
11.00%
13.50%
75.16%
81.10%
78.05%
Difficulty for partners to qualify
5.90%
13.54%
15.74%
31.01%
25.00%
28.03%
51.27%
61.46%
56.23%
Families cannot financially afford it
2.65%
5.88%
5.80%
10.39%
8.65%
9.62%
83.77%
85.47%
84.58%
The traditional role of the father is at work, not at home
23.05%
35.62%
37.82%
27.36%
25.00%
26.46%
32.70%
39.38%
35.71%
Fear of impact on career
5.06%
8.25%
10.11%
10.13%
7.90%
9.14%
78.16%
83.85%
80.75%
Fear of discrimination at work
12.27%
15.63%
21.28%
16.09%
12.50%
14.40%
57.73%
71.88%
64.32%
Mothers prefer to be the main carer
8.28%
19.80%
20.29%
25.55%
22.53%
24.51%
53.31%
57.68%
55.19%
Colleagues and peers perception
20.98%
30.69%
35.90%
23.25%
20.34%
22.13%
35.99%
48.97%
41.97%
Impact on social life
22.46%
41.87%
44.59%
25.71%
25.95%
25.90%
26.98%
32.18%
29.51%
Fear of boredom
27.32%
44.52%
50.57%
22.08%
25.34%
23.58%
21.77%
30.14%
25.85%
Fathers are not interested
22.64%
35.17%
37.95%
27.04%
21.38%
24.27%
32.08%
43.45%
37.79%
Comments • I think parents’ perceptions need to change. It doesn’t have to be the mother that stays at home, and this doesn’t always make financial sense, as fathers don’t necessarily earn more these days. (A few of my male friends earn less than their wives). It needs to be encouraged with more publicity and greater awareness in the workplace. • There needs to be more information out there so people know exactly what it is about and it should also be easily accessible. • It’s a cultural issue. I am not a father at this time, and we are not planning on having a child in the near future, however having some form of SPL is an important step toward equality of the sexes in the workplace. I don’t feel that it has been advertised well at all, however this could be because it is normally explained at the point of declaring to your employer that you are about to become a parent.
• I don’t think many employers know enough about it to advise staff. I’m only aware of it because I’m thinking of having children and wanted to understand my options. Our current policy around maternity, paternity and adoption leave etc., makes no mention of SPL, even though it was updated last year. I work in the NHS where you would hope we would be up on these things. • Practical factors, such as the need for mothers to express milk if breastfeeding, may have some impact on perceptions for both parents. Also, while there are still so few of us that have tried it (I didn’t take SPL as it wasn’t available, but I did take a 6 month sabbatical when my wife returned to work), one problem for men is the lack of adult company during the day. While my wife had a supportive group of mothers who had had their babies at around the same time and met regularly the classic “mum’s group”, I found this group effectively 8
Shared Parental Leave Report
closed to me as a man and so spent almost all of the time on my own with our child. • HR departments not knowing about it. When researching this we found that hardly anyone really knew what it was and it took speaking to people outside of the HR department to actually know what we were and weren’t entitled to. • There’s no real incentive in the same way as there is in certain Scandinavian countries. In some
places, a certain proportion of the leave - much more than in the UK - can only be taken by the father. This ‘use it or lose it ‘ approach could encourage more dads to take SPL. • In my experience, SPL was not an obvious option, not well publicised, the employers do not understand it, and I only found out about it from a colleague.
Parenting in the past year This series of questions was asked only to respondents who indicated they’d had a child in the past year.
Please can you let us know what your arrangements are/were with regards to SPL? n = 86 31.4% 47.67% 20.93%
I am using/have used my right to SPL I did not use my right to SPL I am not eligible for SPL
Can you tell us how much SPL you are taking/have taken?
n = 27
37.04%
37.04%
18.52% 7.41% 2–10 weeks in total
11–25 weeks in total
26–49 weeks in total
The entire 50 weeks
How have you divided your SPL between you and your partner? n = 27
33.33%
My partner and I are sharing/have shared it equally
37.04%
My partner is taking/has taken more time than me
29.63%
My partner is taking/has taken less time than me 9
Shared Parental Leave Report
Comments • Although I had heard of it, I didn’t think of using it. With hindsight, I probably still wouldn’t have as my husband is main earner and has a more senior job with more responsibilities that would have been a struggle to leave for a long period, and he works more hours. • This was our second child so we went with the process that we knew. Also, the shared leave option is still relatively new and unproven (e.g. I don’t know of anyone who has shared parental leave). I would certainly have given it more thought if the concept had been around longer.
• My partner works from home for a company that he part owns. There is a lot of pressure for him to be there every day and he was only on paternity leave for 2 weeks. They are a very small company and without him they would struggle. Although I would have loved if he could have done SPL with me. I don’t think it should solely be the mother taking care of the children.
10
Shared Parental Leave Report
Expectant parents These questions were served only to respondents who indicated they were expecting a child.
Would you consider sharing parental leave with your partner? n = 52
Yes 67.31%
No 7.69%
I don’t know 25%
Can you tell us how you plan to use your SPL? n = 35
31.43%
28.57% 22.86%
2–10 weeks in total
11–25 weeks in total
17.14%
26–49 weeks in total
The entire 50 weeks
How have you divided your SPL between you and your partner? n = 35
33.33%
My partner and I are sharing/have shared it equally
37.04%
My partner is taking/has taken more time than me
29.63%
My partner is taking/has taken less time than me 11
Shared Parental Leave Report
How much do you agree with the following statements: Not important
Not very important or unimportant
Important
Male
Female
Overall
Male
Female
Overall
Male
Female
Overall
326
296
628
326
296
628
326
296
628
SPL will help reduce gender inequality in the workplace
19.33%
16.89%
18.31%
16.26%
12.84%
14.81%
64.42%
70.27%
66.88%
SPL will strengthen the role of fathers in families
11.96%
8.45%
10.19%
11.66%
7.77%
9.87%
76.38%
83.78%
79.94%
SPL will reduce gender stereotypes about parenthood
15.34%
12.84%
14.01%
10.43%
10.47%
10.51%
74.23%
76.69%
75.48%
SPL will be detrimental and generate more work for non-parents
50.92%
53.72%
51.91%
22.09%
23.31%
22.93%
26.99%
22.97%
25.16%
SPL will increase the number of part-time jobs and fixed duration contracts
21.78%
19.26%
20.54%
26.69%
27.03%
26.91%
51.53%
53.72%
52.55%
(n)
Do you think flexible working hours would be more valuable to parents than SPL? n = 628 (Male: 326 / Female: 296)
Yes 54.14%
Male 53.37%
Female 55.07%
No 14.97%
Male 17.48%
Female 12.50%
I don’t know 30.89%
Male 29.14%
Female 32.43%
12
Shared Parental Leave Report
Comments • I would rather be at work with some flexibility to be able to either start or finish later so my partner does not feel she is left alone all day every day. This would give her time to herself and aid in a quicker return to work. • If the stigma was removed from dads taking a more active role that would be an excellent thing. I think flexible working is a better step towards this. • Flexibility to keep childcare costs down would allow more equality in the home rather than one parent working to pay childcare bills. Both parents would then be able to share responsibility rather than, as is typical, one parent working part time to manage. • Being able manage work/home life would improve morale, attrition in the workplace and reduce admin in the workplace, creating more time to focus on the business and providing a better service rather than time completing return to work forms and other admin. • The ability to continue to work flexibly whilst raising a family is very important. • It’s important for parents to have different options, and flexible working hours would allow parents to have a better work/family life balance without sacrificing too much financially. (Which, as we all know, is extremely important when you have children!). • Having the ability to have flexibility in the workplace would mean you can still do your job but still have the time to be with your child, taking them to school, picking them up, spending special time with them and easing the pressures of your partner. • It enables the parent to have the ‘best of both’. The parent will not have to give up work, but they will also be able to choose when to work enabling them to prioritise when they are most needed at home with their child. • Parents would be able to work around each other therefore reduce child care costs and enable them to keep their current wage rather than taking a statutory amount. • Flexible working is needed alongside SPL, not instead of it. Children require their parents for longer than 1 year! • Great in theory but hard in practice. It’s very hard to switch off work even when working part - time, due to email, etc. Not being there at all makes it clear that you are focused elsewhere for a while, and sends a similar message to your child. • It seems the most difficulties arise with finding childcare and its costs. I am hoping to start a family and my biggest worry is finding work that will allow me to fit it around childcare, make enough afford it and also have a work/life balance. Most childcare is from 9 to 6 and unless my partner worked nights, we would struggle to afford childcare and work at the same time without flexi
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
working hours. My current employer also only allows for 2 absences due to childcare before disciplinary action is taken, which is a big concern for me, whereas if I had the option for flexi working I could make hours up if I needed time off. SPL does not pay the value of wages so income has to be maintained. Flexible working, although reducing income, also reduces childcare costs so it becomes cost neutral in reality and offers more quality family time. I have flexible working hours and they are vital. However, I do not see it as more valuable than SPL. You really need both to allow parents the flexibility to decide for themselves based on their individual priorities, needs and circumstances. Flexible hours would be very, very useful. Having a father involved with family life from day one is the best way to ensure he is engaged with his family in the long term. That’s why SPL is so important; it enables men to be involved fathers from day one. Whilst I think SPL is a good thing, my wife would never have opted to go back to work sooner so I could have looked after our sons. Flexible working hours would be of much greater use if, as I do, more people could load their working week to more hours in less days then have a 3 day weekend with family every week whilst still earning solidly and at no real loss to the employer. Flexible hours would be a long-term solution for childcare - the first year of a child’s life is obviously key but there are many years after that where you still need to provide childcare. When my husband and I became new parents, our focus was entirely on our baby. It is only my opinion but I feel an employer would never be able to offer the flexibility needed for the unpredictability involved with having your first child. For us it worked well to dedicate the set leave period to our child before we returned to work. Flexible hours would match most lifestyles of new/young families as it is not always whole days/several days off that are required. A combination of both would be the best option. I think that one of the main benefits of SPL is that it allows new parents to ignore traditional gender roles, and if widely used I believe it would help reduce inequality between men and women in the workplace (if we assume that the major stumbling block for women in their career is the opinion that they will get pregnant and be off work for extended periods of time). Flexible working hours would not address this issue in such a noticeable way. That being said, flexible working hours would be hugely beneficial to parents in the long term.
13
Shared Parental Leave Report
The viability of
Grandparental Leave Shared Parental Leave is set to be available for working grandparents in 2018. Were you aware of this change to SPL? Overall
Male
Female
(n)
628
326
296
Yes
15.45%
16.56%
14.53%
No
84.55%
83.44%
85.47%
Would you consider this new arrangement of SPL in the future? Overall
Male
Female
(n)
628
326
296
Yes
48.73%
50.31%
47.30%
No
22.13%
23.01%
21.62%
I don’t know
29.14%
26.69%
31.08%
To what extent do you agree with the following statements regarding changes to SPL with working grandparents? Not important
Not very important or unimportant
Important
Male
Female
Overall
Male
Female
Overall
Male
Female
Overall
321
291
618
321
291
618
321
291
618
I think it will be a positive change for childcare
9.03%
11.34%
10.03%
18.38%
19.59%
18.93%
72.59%
69.07%
71.04%
I think it will be a positive change for families
7.76%
8.56%
8.06%
14.29%
15.41%
14.84%
77.95%
76.03%
77.10%
I think it will be a burden for grandparents
51.24%
51.37%
51.29%
24.53%
27.74%
26.29%
24.22%
20.89%
22.42%
I think it will be complex to organise
26.33%
29.51%
28.06%
27.59%
25.69%
26.59%
46.08%
44.79%
45.35%
I think it will improve the value of grandparents in society
18.58%
14.38%
16.43%
23.53%
28.08%
25.60%
57.89%
57.53%
57.97%
I think it will help reduce gender inequality in the workplace
29.69%
28.57%
29.19%
36.25%
31.63%
34.03%
34.06%
39.80%
36.77%
(n)
14
Shared Parental Leave Report
Comments • I think this would be welcomed by some grandparents, as they love to feel they are helping out in some way, plus they would have some quality time with their grandchildren. Those that feel it is a burden are better off staying in work, though I do feel it would be hard for an employer to keep your job open. They might decide to let you go if you’re getting on in years and employ someone younger. • Grandparents play an important role in the life of children but less so now that parenthood is taking place later in life and so the grandparents are much older than in the past.
• I’d not heard of this option before. But after discussing with the grandparents of my child, there has been some very positive feedback. • I think it is important for grandparents to fulfil the roll of grandparents and not be surrogate parents or child minders as the dynamic changes and isn’t as special. It also hits those people who don’t have family close as it is likely to be a step to removing free childcare places as it will be expected grandparents’ employers would foot the bill.
15
A year into... Shared Parental Leave On 5 April 2015, Shared Parental Leave was introduced in the UK, allowing parents to share up to 52 weeks of leave when a child is welcomed to the family. One year in, totaljobs looked at how it has been used by families. Lack of awareness
Impact on career
Do people know about it? Only 33% of women know about SPL, compared to 41% of men. Of both men and women:
65%
74%
did not know if their employer offered enhanced SPL pay
haven't received any support or information about SPL from their HR department
What are the barriers? Main concerns
Less importance
Impact on social life
Lack of awareness
Affordability
Traditional role of fathers
Fear of boredom
Impact on career
Not all people who knew about SPL felt it was the right choice for them
Is it feasible? “The difference in salaries between my wife and I meant that it was not viable”
“It simply came down to money. I earn more so it made sense for my partner to have the time off”
Dad
Mum
In the past year, 50% of parents surveyed did not take advantage of SPL Only 20% used the full 52 weeks
The expectations vs. the reality 68% of expecting parents would consider sharing leave But in practice, there’s a gap between their plans and current usage of SPL Parents to be
Parents 37%
37% 31%
29% 23% 19%
17% 7%
2–10 weeks
11–25 weeks
26–49 weeks
50 weeks
What are the benefits? Overall, survey respondents agree that SPL would help…
Strengthen the role of fathers in families
Reduce gender stereotypes around parenthood
Increase the number of part-time and fixed-term jobs
Help reduce gender inequality in the workplace
What are the alternatives? 54% of people think flexible working hours would be more valuable to parents than SPL Here’s why
“It's not just about the first year, flexible working would offer a solution for both parents for as long as they'd like”
“The ability to continue to work flexibly whilst raising a family is very important”
“Parents could plan together and share parental responsibility”
“This would allow parents to fit work around childcare”
85% did not know the SPL will be extended to grandparents in 2018 75% think it will be a positive change for childcare Half of survey respondents would consider nominating a grandparent to share their leave. It was said to be a positive change for families and would improve the perception of grandparents in society.
See all the survey results in the totaljobs report totaljobs.com/insidejob Totaljobs surveyed 628 people, 326 men and 296 women through eDigitalResearch in February and March 2016
16
This report and other related documents can be downloaded from totaljobs.com/insidejob If you require the survey raw data, please contact
[email protected] For reaction to the survey data from journalist and parenting organisations, visit: http://www.totaljobs.com/insidejob/shared-parental-leave