If you're thinking of starting a family (or adding an extra blessing!) your options are about to change when it comes to who takes time away from work to care for baby in the early days, weeks, months. The UK is about to catch up with many of our European neighbours by giving parents much more choice in the matter of maternity/paternity leave. This could be great news if Mummy is the chief income earner in the family and you're starting to think you may only be able to afford to take a couple of months off work.
Now, if your employer, is modern and family friendly they may offer you extended benefits to stay at home longer with baby but, for most of us, the option is 6 weeks at 90% of your average earnings and then up to just under £140 per week for another 33 weeks with an additional 13 weeks unpaid if you want it. This can be a big wake up call for an expectant Mother who brings home a significant salary or wage - you face that well-known guilt of making a decision between money/career and spending time with baby. Currently Fathers can take 1 or 2 weeks of Paternity leave at the same rate and could take up to 26 weeks if the Mother hasn't used all of her leave entitlement and returns to work starting 20 weeks after baby is born.
The good news is that for any baby due after April 2015 it may make more sense, financially and professionally, for Daddy to take the bulk of the leave and Mummy to return to work - or any combination of sharing 37 of those paid weeks and the 13 unpaid. The only rule is that Mummy must take the first 2 weeks after baby arrives as a recovery period - the rest is up to you, at the point the parents are ready to start sharing Maternity Leave ends and Shared Parental Leave begins. Now, you may have read this far and be thinking - so, apart from the name, what's changed? The key is in those bright red words in the paragraph above - Mummy doesn't have to return to work so they could have a shared period of leave when they are both home as long as they don't exceed the total 52 week leave period.
The other change is that the current rules require leave to be taken in one consecutive period - not any more! If two parent's have extremely accommodating employers they could even request to share the time by working one week on and one week off to alternate the weeks at home with baby! The main point is it's flexible and shared - all it takes is agreement between the parents and their employers.
Culturally I think we're a little way off the Scandinavian culture where Father's expect to take considerable leave after arrival of baby (and get paid well to do so!). In some families stereotypes and norms will prevent a Father from jumping up and down to do it.........but a few at a time we may start to see the landscape of parental leave start to change. That's not a bad thing!
If you're considering your parental leave options, and baby is due after 5th April 2015, consult your HR department for the specific details as they relate to you (there are eligibility criteria in terms of length of time with business).
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