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MNHQ

Shared Parental Leave: share your views and you could win £300! NOW CLOSED

354 replies

AnnMumsnet · 17/03/2015 09:06

Parents with children due or adopted from 5 April will be among the first to take advantage of Shared Parental Leave. To coincide with its introduction Shared Parental Leave, we have been asked by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills to find out what you think about this new policy for parents.

The team there say "From April 2015, parents will have greater choice and flexibility over how they share the care of their child in the first year of their life. Shared Parental Leave allows working couples share up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay in a way that suits their work and family needs. For example, parents can take time off together or they can tag team, stopping and starting leave and returning to work in between if they wish.
Check your eligibility and how much pay you can get here. We'd love to know what you think about this and how you'd use it for your family."

So, please have a look at the information provided here and let us know on this thread what you think. If you or your partner is pregnant and your baby is due from 5 April do you think you'll use it? Would you have used it when you had your last child if it had been an option? Do you think you will share leave with your partner if you have children in the future? How would it work in your family?

Have a look at the video:

Add your comment by 30 March 2015 at 9am and you'll be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher for the store of your choice (from a list). Insight T&Cs apply

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

OP posts:
lhlee62 · 17/03/2015 21:00

Too late for me, but I don't think this would work for us as my husband only gets paid if he works as he's a contractor so if he did take leave it would be statutory pay. Also since I breastfed it was easier for me to be at home. If we have another I doubt we were share the leave, but it's great that there is flexibility for other families out there

CheeseEMouse · 17/03/2015 21:04

I think it's good in theory, but having bf number 1 for a good while my husband would then be limited as to what time off he could take. The added complication that I can also see is that I accrue annual leave before going back to work, and work wanted me to take a good slug of that time off before going back so I didn't have a silly amount banked - and whilst nice to potentially have time off all together it allowed me to eke out the maternity leave Ihad . Rather than using it simultaneously with my husband being off on parental leave (if that makes sense!)

arat · 17/03/2015 21:04

Makes a lot of sense, but in practical terms, I can't see take-up being high, particularly if the father is the main bread-winner. I'm all for giving parents flexibility for those who can make use of it.
We might have used it when DC1 was born, but not when DC2 was born as I had been made redundant by then.

muppet150 · 17/03/2015 21:08

I agree with it but i doubt i would use it if i was to have any more children

Japsamba · 17/03/2015 21:10

We're due July but doubt we'll share leave. Good to have the option though.

Annbunce · 17/03/2015 21:10

It is great that both parents get this flexibility, as long as they both have a supportive employer, which isn't always the case !!!

meandjulio · 17/03/2015 21:11

I'm really delighted by this policy and think not only that it will be really great for a lot of families, but that it will cause actual shifts in thinking. I also believe that if we hadn't gone to 1 year maternity leave first, we would never have got here - that was a necessary stage for us to reach this point. It's hard to believe that it was really quite a short time ago that maternity leave was so very short.

pinklady123456 · 17/03/2015 21:15

Its a great idea but for me, I felt it was my time with my daughter and I wouldn't have wanted to share it with my husband! I can't see it being particularly popular though in terms of being taken although flexibility is welcomed.

Lariflete · 17/03/2015 21:16

It's brilliant for equality between men and women. I really like the idea of tag-team leave. I'm not sure how we would have been able to work it as both DC were breastfed until 12 months but it is a step in the right direction for giving each parent equal responsibility for their child.

SaltySeaBird · 17/03/2015 21:16

We are TTC number 2 and will use shared parental leave.

In my job and role it's hard to take a length of time off - it shouldn't be but it is. I enjoy my job and earn more than DH. Financially and career wise it makes sense for me to go back quite quickly.

DH works for a large organisation which is well set up for people taking leave. He would love the opportunity to have time off with DD and a future child.

At present my firm offers SMP only and DH's company offer a fantastic (6 months full pay, 3 months half pay) maternity, but only 1 week full pay paternity.

In an ideal world I'd take 12 weeks (so as per my company that would be basic SMP) then DH would take 6 months. So if all things were equal would he get 3 months full pay / 3 months half pay (the same as women at his workplace would get after the first 12 weeks had been taken), or would he get SMP only, the same as I get at my workplace?

I find it quite confusing when you have different workplaces and policies in play.

Cailin7 · 17/03/2015 21:16

I would not use it, but I do think it is a good idea to offer shared parental leave so as to provide parents with options.

LucyLou2003 · 17/03/2015 21:21

We would definitely have taken advantage of this if it was available at the time. Unfortunately I suffered with PND and I really struggled with the isolation I felt whilst on maternity leave. I returned to work early as it was the best thing for me, but it would have been great for us as a family if DH could have taken the rest of the leave instead.

BigfootFilesHisToesInYourTea · 17/03/2015 21:27

I think it's a good idea if it means employers are less likely to discriminate against women of child-bearing age on the basis they may take time off to have kids, but that relies on people using it.

The 2 weeks paternity leave DH had when we had DC1 arrived wasn't really enough considering it wasn't exactly a straightforward process that time round.

HappySunflower · 17/03/2015 21:33

I think this is great. For parents to be able to share leave in a way that's best for their individual family is excellent-just the way that it should be really.

I hope that some clear guidance will be available to employers, particularly those small companies with no HR department to administer the system.

littleme96 · 17/03/2015 21:37

I think it's good that the option is there, but it's not something that we would have used. I exclusively breastfed and it was agreed that I would be a stay at home parent. I don't think my Husband would have wanted to do it either, but it would work for some families.

Bigbadgeorge · 17/03/2015 21:37

We have our second child due end of April. It's a great idea in principle and I think it will really benefit some families. However it isn't an option as for us as I will be breastfeeding plus my husband would not be happy doing full time child care.

seeingdouble2 · 17/03/2015 21:39

A great idea those that need it.

trilbydoll · 17/03/2015 21:40

I think it is great to have the option. Unfortunately it is no good for us - we have a fairly traditional set up where I am p/t and DH f/t. We can't live on my p/t earnings and I couldn't go back to work f/t then drop back again to p/t, I am not allowed to make multiple flexible working requests.

I think though that the shared leave might prevent others ending up how we are if that makes sense - if it had been available for dc1, I could have gone back f/t and then we could have reevaluated after DH's time off.

andreaca · 17/03/2015 21:57

I think its a great idea, its giving parents a choice who in the past would`nt have had any chance, It would of been no good to me as my husbands wage is too much to lose or even reduce compared to mine, Get the wages equal and then it will be even better, but its all about choice and now they have it.

pfcpompeysarah · 17/03/2015 21:59

I don't think this will be used much by people, it would be too much upheaval for businesses, and would mean a drop in finances for most fathers I would imagine. It is one of those policies that sounds great in theory, but in practice, probably less so.

gk6277 · 17/03/2015 22:00

Any initiative to build on the workings of the extended family is to be applauded, flexibility in parenting is key for the good of our children, so a good initiative.

meringue33 · 17/03/2015 22:08

It's a brilliant idea but in practice we've been v disappointed, as I have a good maternity policy with fairly generous top up pay, while DH's employer (FTSE100 company) has only offered him the equivalent of SMP.

We may still do it, but it will mean substantial loss of earnings.

YonicScrewdriver · 17/03/2015 22:09

too late for us but I very much welcome it

peanutmum111 · 17/03/2015 22:23

I like the idea but feel that it could cause many problems in the work environment. I found it hard to go back to work, as much had changed, would employers feel resentful and use the opportunity to change things

supernaan · 17/03/2015 22:28

This would have come in handy for me in the past but I suppose it can still help new parents and does away with any gender based bias or discrimination. It's about time they treated parents regardless of gender fairly.