We’re supporting a campaign to encourage more families to take advantage of Shared Parental Leave
Shared Parental Leave (SPL) was introduced by the government in 2015. The aim is to give working families more choice and flexibility around who cares for their child in the first year.
Parents have the right to take up to 50 weeks of SPL, either together or separately. Parents can also share up to 37 weeks of Statutory Shared Parental Pay paid at £145.18 per week.
The government is currently evaluating the SPL scheme and expects to publish findings later this year – so watch this space.
It is currently estimated that 285,000 couples are eligible to take SPL every year.
And there are thought to be numerous benefits of SPL for both children and parents.
These include dads sharing in the joys and challenges of bringing up children and allowing the mum to continue in her career progression.
Fathers taking paternity leave, especially when it lasts more than two weeks, is associated with more involvement in childcare,
This, in turn, is linked to better outcomes for children as each paternal involvement has been shown to have a positive impact on the child’s IQ, emotional IQ, educational outcomes, career success, mental and physical health and overall happiness.
Various research studies have also shown greater paternal involvement is beneficial for the dad’s relationship with the child, the couple’s relationship with each other and the dad’s overall satisfaction with life.
On average women earn around 2% less for every year spent out of the workplace
In addition, it is hoped that greater uptake of SPL may help women in their career development.
Analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies found that time out of the labour market has a substantial impact on women’s salaries.
Highly qualified women earn 4% less on average for each year they take out.
So, why not think about whether you can take advantage of SPL and make positive changes for your family?
Abi Wood, our Head of Campaigns, said, ‘All new families are different and we’d encourage parents to discuss what works best for them. Sharing parental leave can be a great option and give mums and dads the flexibility to find a good work-life balance during the first year with their baby.’
‘Some mums appreciate the break from childcare sharing leave can give and dads who have shared leave tell us how much they value having the extra time to bond with their babies.’
