Partner Article

Small businesses speak up about proposed changes to parental leave

Liverpool-based HR specialists High Performance Consultancy (HPC) launched a poll in December last year to engage opinions on changes to UK parental leave rights, after Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg proposed that parents should be given the option to share leave for up to one year after the birth of their child.

Shared leave has been available since April 2011, but previously parents were each only able to take their leave as a single six month block. Under the new proposed change, new parents can make their own arrangements on how their allocated leave will be spent. Although some welcome the change, saying it will give fathers a more hands on approach with their children, many are concerned that the proposed changes could have a negative impact on small and growing businesses. HPC received almost one hundred responses to their poll, with a staggering 70% opposed to the changes. Many commented that the new legislation will cause unnecessary disruption to the general running and daily administration of small to medium businesses.

One comment read: “Management and planning for this will be an administrative nightmare, additional red tape that is totally unnecessary.”

Another said: “This doesn’t really address the reasons why more parents have yet to adopt the shared leave, when it has been an available option since 2011. Shouldn’t we be exploring the route of issues like loss of salary, concerns of impact on careers and the traditional role of parents?”

Managing director at High Performance Consultancy, Victoria Brown says: “Since the original changes in 2011 we have found that less than 5% of our client base across the UK have had requests for fathers to share parental leave. I therefore question why Clegg has made such a proposition, when there are so many other areas of employment law that are crying out to be addressed.

“As a working mum I am never against any improvements for families to be able to manage both work and childcare more effectively. However, HPC’s clients have voiced fears that I think most business owners will have; that without due care and attention to the detail of how this would be administratively implemented, this is just going to be another unwanted headache for SMEs.

“High Performance can help guide and advise small to medium businesses through these changes, and lend a hand in learning how to deal with the implications.”

High Performance Consultancy is an International provider of Outsourced Human Resources and Employment Law Services. They work in partnership with your HR department and/or management team to offer strategic support and provide you with knowledge and expertise that may not be available internally.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Dan Minchin .