Shared Parental Leave and Parental Leave – what do you think and know? Chance to win £100! NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

As part of the Mumsnet Family Friendly Programme we'd love to know what you think about these new employee benefits which have been introduced in the last few years.

You can read about them below - please share on this thread your experience of them and your thoughts on them. Have you taken them up? Do you think you would? Have you heard of Parental Leave? How do you think employers feel about them? Has your employer promoted them to you/ employees? Has your partners company promoted them?

All comments welcome!

Shared Parental Leave - this is for new parents and is designed to give greater flexibility around the first year with a new baby
Government info here
ACAS guide here

Parental Leave - this is unpaid leave for parents to take care of a child's welfare - employees are entitled to 18 weeks’ leave for each child and adopted child, up to their 18th birthday with their job protected
Government info here
ACAS guide here

Both are obviously subject to specific terms.

Add your view and you'll be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £100 voucher for the store of their choice.

Click here to learn more about companies who are working to make the UK a more family friendly place

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&C apply

Unpaid leave isn't realistic for the majority of young families.
If only....

We have a 10 week-old baby and I'm currently in receipt of maternity allowance as I'm self employed. My husband is also self employed. We looked extensively through the information on the .gov website and really thought the shared parental leave would work for us. It was only on ringing up to claim that I found we couldn't take it up as we are self employed. I think it's awful - we both pay taxes, our fair share, and yet we're not eligible. Self employment is on the rise, so it's ridiculous.

I like both ideas, particularly the shared parental leave. It reflects the changing dynamics in the family home.

Choice and increased options is always a good thing but I think it should be extended to cover having to care for an elderly parent, or a partner who has become sick or had an accident. We have plenty of warning when we're having a baby, time to sort out a plan, but sometimes life throws things at us fast and it's at times like this that we most need employers to be flexible and understanding.

Very good idea to share the leave

I think parental leave is good. my husband has had time off this year to look after the children, because I have been unwell.

I've recently taken parental leave which has been brilliant - my daughter kept getting ill and felt i needed to be around to help sort things out and provide stability at home. I spoke directly to HR, my line manager didn't tell me about it.

The shared parental leave - i think there is a stigma for blokes and there needs to be more work done in the work place for men to encourage and support them doing this. Both mums and dads can have professional pressures at work which can discourage them from taken parental leave.

It's a great idea and will help a lot of people. It's very difficult when your child is ill and has to have time off school if you haven't got someone who could look after them for you. My 2 had chickenpox last year one after the other and I was home for 5 weeks with them.

shared parental leave came in after my son was born but i think it is a pretty good idea

I'm probably different to most here in that i don't think anyone should be entitled to parental leave at all. we choose to have children (I have 3) and so have to fit that int our working lives ourselves.

Shared Parental Leave is a great idea as it gives more flexibility and dad can share the strain. Parental Leave would be better if it was paid as many mums just can't afford to take much time off.

Shared parental leave seems like a great idea, totally up to the individual

Both make sense and when you look at them it seems so wrong and amazing that it's only now that it's happening

I didn't even realise there was unpaid parental leave, I wish I had known this sooner, when I requested a week off work last September to settle my youngest into reception this would have been ideal, instead I had to save what little holiday time I could.

Great of it works! Although in reality I can't see many employers looking at it favourably

SPL is a fantastic idea. My husband and I were really pleased when it was introduced as we were keen to use for planning leave between us for arrival of our second baby, the plan was I would take 5 months and my husband would take 4. My husband handed in the forms to his workplace and was dismissed the following week. He had no warnings or issues up until that point. As he has less than 2 years service at that employer his working rights are diminished, however we are pressing forward with an employment tribunal. It is a real shame as I think the government scheme is fantastic but how it actually works in practice (particularly in male-dominated traditional industries) is questionable and discrimination is alive and well.

well everyone needs it x

I like the idea of both of these. I was lucky when my children were smaller than I worked for understanding companies who knew there were times when I'd have to have time off to take care of my children, but I know my daughter now would have difficulty getting the same consideration.
Also, far more women are now breadwinners in their family and I have many friends where the father is the primary caregiver, or the parent who has stepped back on their career, gone part time, etc, while their children are young I think it is important that parental leave reflects this.

As both my husband and myself are self-employed it has no effect on us whatsoever, but I do like the idea that dads are considered equals as parents. Not sure how many could afford unpaid leave, so in practice, can't imagine it having a huge take up rate

I think shared parental leave is a great idea as it gives the father a chance to have extra time with their child, it also allows the lowest earning parent to be off instead of the mother having to go back to work early, if their the highest earner, so that the bills can get paid

Shared leave is a good idea and works for some families but I feel dads should be entitled to more than two weeks paid paternity leave to help support the mother and new baby at least 4 weeks!

I think both are a good idea and beneficial to different circumstances. But it's likely that a lot of people will be unable to afford to take parental (unpaid) leave in this day and age.
Shared parental leave is definitely a good idea as it sways more towards equality for men and women. It's good to have more options either way.

flexibility is important. shared leave is a good option to have for couples that it works for, won't be everyone. some would prefer the mother to have all the time. needs to bed in for longer to be fully accepted for the male to take significant time off - don't think it's there yet.

I would have loved to have shared my parental leave. I felt 9 months was far too long for myself and my husband hardly got any time to bond, it's about time something was done about it.

I think it's great that both parents can have the opportunity to spend time and bond with the new baby. Mums probably still need more than 50% of the leave, because they will spend a chunk of time recovering from the birth, but after that, the leave should be shared between both parents, if that is what they both want.