The move is designed to help fathers within the civil service spend more time with their children. At present, mothers receive 90% of pay for the first six weeks of maternity leave and then the lower of £138.18 a week or 90% of average weekly earnings. Under shared parental leave, to be introduced on 1 December, dads or mums will only receive the lower of £138.18 a week or 90% of weekly earnings.
Fathers have indicated they would be reluctant to take leave becasue they are not entitled to full pay, research suggests. A report by My Family Care in June revealed 84% of parents will not change the way they take leave when the new legislation comes into force.
Clegg's policy would be another step towards parity on parental pay and he hopes it will encourage more fathers to take time off to raise young children.
"For me, it’s critical that people who choose to work in the public sector know that they’re working in modern, progressive workplaces," he will say.
“I pushed for the introduction of shared parental leave because I fundamentally believe it’s time for us to sweep away the outdated regulations and prejudices that still limit the choices of too many people in this country.
“Evidence shows promoting flexible working patterns like this can help boost employee productivity, loyalty and retention."
