Shared Parental Leave figures reach only 2%. How can employees share the joy?

The Department of Business have reported that out of 285,000 couples eligible to take Shared Parental Leave (SPL), only 2% of families have decided to use the scheme.

Government have responded to such low figures by launching a “Share the joy” campaign costing £1.5million in order to help promote awareness of employment rights due to most parents not being aware of the SPL scheme.  Research shows that around 49% of parents have heard of Shared Parental Leave, but only 8% claim to know more about it. The campaign was created as part of the modern Industrial Strategy and Good Work plan to help increase productivity and job satisfaction. It also aims to ensure that dads do not miss out on precious moments with their children.

What is Shared Parental Leave?

• Introduced in April 2015, Shared Parental Leave allows parents to share up to 50 weeks of leave before the child’s first birthday
• A parent will only qualify to take Shared Parental Leave if the other parent meets basic work and earnings criteria and the parent taking the leave meets the individual eligibility criteria (such as having 26 weeks' continuous service at the 15th week before the EWC and remaining in the same employment).
• Parents can share up to 37 weeks of Statutory Shared Parental Pay paid at £140.98 per week (or 90% of your average earnings, whichever is lower).
• The scheme allows parents to be off work at the same time or take it in turns to have periods of leave in up to three different blocks and is in addition to the right to unpaid parental leave.
• An employer must have at least eight weeks' notice of any period of Shared Parental Leave.
• As well as Shared Parental Leave which was introduced in 2015, Government introduced a right to request flexible working (2014) which applies to around 20 million people.

Future Developments ………

Increase in Statutory Rates

From April 2018, the statutory rate of Shared Parental Leave will increase from £140.98 to £145.18 per week.

How can Aspire help?

The Aspire HR team have extensive experience in reviewing and drafting ‘Family Friendly’ policies such as flexible working, maternity, paternity and parental leave. We can assist you with managing all employee enquiries and requests regarding HR processes.