According to a report from the CIPD and KPMG, employers are not encouraging new fathers to take paternity leave insofar as only a minority of businesses currently offer fathers full (or near full) pay during the two-week statutory paternity period and even fewer offer any paid leave after this initial period.
The findings of this report will make interesting reading for the new coalition government which has stated its intention to review employment and workplace laws generally and also to extend the right to request flexible working to all employees.
The report identifies the two pieces of legislation most considered a hindrance by businesses to be the Working Time Regulations 1999 and the Agency Workers Regulations (which will come into effect in the UK in October 2011).
The CIPD considers the Working Time Regulations have negligible value in limiting unhealthy workplace behaviour and indeed is calling for its repeal. As for the Agency Workers Regulations, which will give assigned temporary workers no less favourable treatment than if they had been recruited directly by the employer after a 12-week qualifying period, only 13% of employers consider that these measures will be helpful.
This report lends support to the Conservatives pre-election intention to review the Agency Regulations. However, this of course will be limited by the requirement to implement the overarching EU directive.
The Disability Discrimination Act, Data Protection Act and Age Discrimination Regulations were all considered to be helpful by over 40% of employers taking part in the survey. And employers welcomed the clarity these laws have provided.
The National Minimum Wage is generally supported because of the protection it gives low-income workers, with 30% of employers believing that the adult minimum wage rate (currently set at £5.80) should be increased.
The survey's findings in relation to maternity and paternity pay are particularly timely in view of the publication of the coalition's programme, which states the Government's intention to extend the right to request flexible working to all employees, consulting with businesses on how best to do so.
While 52% of employers offer their employees enhanced maternity pay, businesses appear to be far less willing to offer similar enhancements to new fathers. As few as 24% of employers pay paternity leave beyond the initial two-week period and only 40% of employers enhance the statutory paternity pay level to anything near full pay during the two week period.
