Shared Parental Leave - encouraging more blokes to take it

HellsBells

HellsBells

Striker
Contributor
Following on from the Mat Leave for MP thread in the Politics Forum, didn’t want to totally derail it:

This year I’m working on trying to increase the uptake in our company of Shared Parental Leave in men. So couple of qs for you chaps:

a) were you aware that you could take “maternity leave” of up to 12 months?
B) What’s stopping you take it/what’s stopped you in the past?
C) what could your company do (sensible solutions please!) to encourage you to take Shared Parental Leave if you were having a baby?

Thanks gents.
 


HellsBells said:
Following on from the Mat Leave for MP thread in the Politics Forum, didn’t want to totally derail it:

This year I’m working on trying to increase the uptake in our company of Shared Parental Leave in men. So couple of qs for you chaps:

a) were you aware that you could take “maternity leave” of up to 12 months?
B) What’s stopping you take it/what’s stopped you in the past?
C) what could your company do (sensible solutions please!) to encourage you to take Shared Parental Leave if you were having a baby?

Thanks gents.
Click to expand...

A) Nope. Always thought it was like 2 or 4 weeks paternal leave for men?
B) Don't have kids.
C) Remove the stigma from stay at home dad's. publicise documents promoting the fact that you can take this leave.
 
HellsBells said:
Following on from the Mat Leave for MP thread in the Politics Forum, didn’t want to totally derail it:

This year I’m working on trying to increase the uptake in our company of Shared Parental Leave in men. So couple of qs for you chaps:

a) were you aware that you could take “maternity leave” of up to 12 months?
B) What’s stopping you take it/what’s stopped you in the past?
C) what could your company do (sensible solutions please!) to encourage you to take Shared Parental Leave if you were having a baby?

Thanks gents.
Click to expand...
a) yes
b) money. i (should) make more. if she made more, then i'd take it up. (we discussed this when talking about where we were gonna settle)
c)pay me a massively increased salary rather than comms,
 
I knew I'd got myself confused in the other thread, so I checked my work policy.

The problem for us was that my place only pays 13 weeks normal pay, then 21 statutory.
So if my wife wanted to take 3 months / 13 weeks off, then me take 3 months off, I would only get statutory maternity pay as they count her weeks against my entitlement.
Whereas her taking 6 months was fully paid and I obviously got full pay too (as working).

So that's pointless as we couldn't live of my wife's income plus SMP for me.

I'm not specifically saying its bad. But certainly it pushed us away from considering shared parental leave. And because women will almost always need some time off, most jobs won't have anything "left" for the man - so the take up will always be very low.

Sorry if my previous posts confused matters.
 
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HellsBells said:
Following on from the Mat Leave for MP thread in the Politics Forum, didn’t want to totally derail it:

This year I’m working on trying to increase the uptake in our company of Shared Parental Leave in men. So couple of qs for you chaps:

a) were you aware that you could take “maternity leave” of up to 12 months?
B) What’s stopping you take it/what’s stopped you in the past?
C) what could your company do (sensible solutions please!) to encourage you to take Shared Parental Leave if you were having a baby?

Thanks gents.
Click to expand...

A) Yes I know a couple who split theirs
B) It made more sense for Mrs K to stay off with Mini-K. The timing of it meant she managed a year off!
C) I'd have to check what our situation is at my new place. I suspect though that it would be Mrs K taking the majority of time off with Mini-K 2.0 (if/when we have one)
 
HellsBells said:
Following on from the Mat Leave for MP thread in the Politics Forum, didn’t want to totally derail it:

This year I’m working on trying to increase the uptake in our company of Shared Parental Leave in men. So couple of qs for you chaps:

a) were you aware that you could take “maternity leave” of up to 12 months?
B) What’s stopping you take it/what’s stopped you in the past?
C) what could your company do (sensible solutions please!) to encourage you to take Shared Parental Leave if you were having a baby?

Thanks gents.
Click to expand...

1) yes

2) detrminetal to career and I earn more than Mrs mt

3) shared parental leave is an odd concept to me. Especially on the breast feeding front. But the answer is to make sure i'd have a job to come back to which is not compromised by my decision to take Shared Parental leave.

Id also like to add that my wife loved maternity and would rather have spent time with the kids than be at work. And I'm more than happy if it makes her happy. And I love my kids unconditionally and would love to spend more time with them but I realise I have a job and an obligation to them
 
A-Took the full week paternity pay,then the other week SPP.Followed by two weeks A/L.4 weeks flew over mind.

B-Earn more than the mrs so it was more about her maternity and the conditions around her return.

C-Not sure tbh,had loads of leave saved up.Would consider more post maternity working conditions like compressed hours.
 
HellsBells said:
Following on from the Mat Leave for MP thread in the Politics Forum, didn’t want to totally derail it:

This year I’m working on trying to increase the uptake in our company of Shared Parental Leave in men. So couple of qs for you chaps:

a) were you aware that you could take “maternity leave” of up to 12 months?
B) What’s stopping you take it/what’s stopped you in the past?
C) what could your company do (sensible solutions please!) to encourage you to take Shared Parental Leave if you were having a baby?

Thanks gents.
Click to expand...

A. knew about it and knew it was a good period of time but not 12 months. would have guessed at 6
B. I earn more than she does and am on commission
C. promote it more as loads don't know.
 
A. Yes.

B. It was only around when my youngest was born in 2016 so I didn't have an option for my eldest. That said, with both of mine I took 1 month off though a mix of entitlement, holiday and unpaid leave. I wouldn't take a full year, as bad as it is to say it, it would definitely impact my career over the long run. They would let me, as they would be legally obliged, but the culture of my current place means I would pretty much be ruling myself out of any future promotion hopes. Both me and my wife work full-time, but culturally, she was welcomed back in with open arms when she returned from both sets of maternity leave.

C. Wholesale cultural change is the only solution. In my place, demographically, representation at the top is very much male and over 55. Their views on a man taking 1-year out would be very old fashioned. So the answer would be a more inclusive board and them demonstrating, via their own actions, that taking leave like this would be non-discriminatory.
 
HellsBells said:
Following on from the Mat Leave for MP thread in the Politics Forum, didn’t want to totally derail it:

This year I’m working on trying to increase the uptake in our company of Shared Parental Leave in men. So couple of qs for you chaps:

a) were you aware that you could take “maternity leave” of up to 12 months?
B) What’s stopping you take it/what’s stopped you in the past?
C) what could your company do (sensible solutions please!) to encourage you to take Shared Parental Leave if you were having a baby?

Thanks gents.
Click to expand...
Cos it’s for lasses.

Seriously though, I took a month off for both of mine and my ex decided not to go back to work as she wasn’t that happy there anyway, and financially it wasn’t really viable for me to be off any longer than that.
monkeytassle said:
The curve ball is breat feeding. I mean I have pecs/man boobs but at no point could I have provided breast milk.
Click to expand...

Chest milk now. Get with the times.
 
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HellsBells said:
Following on from the Mat Leave for MP thread in the Politics Forum, didn’t want to totally derail it:

This year I’m working on trying to increase the uptake in our company of Shared Parental Leave in men. So couple of qs for you chaps:

a) were you aware that you could take “maternity leave” of up to 12 months?
B) What’s stopping you take it/what’s stopped you in the past?
C) what could your company do (sensible solutions please!) to encourage you to take Shared Parental Leave if you were having a baby?

Thanks gents.
Click to expand...
I missed the boat on all this due to age/era like a lot on here but if its any help our place allow flexible working to enable folks with working partners to cover the other halfs days at work. IE instead of 8-4 monday to friday they allow 7-5 or 8-6 for example to allow the extra day off. Obviously security of benefits as well is a big one, holiday pay, number of holidays, sick pay etc. If lads felt they didnt have that to worry about they may be keener to participate
 
HellsBells said:
Following on from the Mat Leave for MP thread in the Politics Forum, didn’t want to totally derail it:

This year I’m working on trying to increase the uptake in our company of Shared Parental Leave in men. So couple of qs for you chaps:

a) were you aware that you could take “maternity leave” of up to 12 months?
B) What’s stopping you take it/what’s stopped you in the past?
C) what could your company do (sensible solutions please!) to encourage you to take Shared Parental Leave if you were having a baby?

Thanks gents.
Click to expand...
Fook that noise, our lass was welcome to it. 2 weeks was too long with our second as she had colic. I couldn’t wait to get back on nights so I could get some sleep...
 
HellsBells said:
Following on from the Mat Leave for MP thread in the Politics Forum, didn’t want to totally derail it:

This year I’m working on trying to increase the uptake in our company of Shared Parental Leave in men. So couple of qs for you chaps:

a) were you aware that you could take “maternity leave” of up to 12 months?
B) What’s stopping you take it/what’s stopped you in the past?
C) what could your company do (sensible solutions please!) to encourage you to take Shared Parental Leave if you were having a baby?

Thanks gents.
Click to expand...
Knew all about it.

As the higher wage earner and maternity pay being absolutely shit in this country I took the two weeks paternity leave and no more.

I think parental leave needs massive reform. In ireland for example women get full pay for 6 months, even that’s shite compared to some EU countries.
 

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