The changes coming in this April are certainly going to improve the current position. Until recently the minimum requirement was for women to receive 90% of their salary for six weeks, followed by 75 a week for another 12 weeks. Now the minimum requirement will be for that second period to be extended to 20 weeks, at 100 a week.
There is also the possibility of taking 52 weeks maternity leave, if you have already worked for the employer for at least half a year, with six months partially paid and six months unpaid. But how many people will be able to afford to take a years leave on that rate of pay, without some sort of enhancement for the employer? However, from the employees perspective it is a step in the right direction. And for the employer, it will be easier to fill a temporary post for a full year rather than for three or six months.
My personal bugbear is that we need similar moves on the paternity front. Two weeks benefit of 100 a week the current paternity pay will not be a realistic option for a lot of working fathers.
And what are companies doing to bring parental leave and pay into line with the new statutory requirements?
Debbie Rotchell, policy specialist, Marks & Spencer
New legislation was not the driving force behind the introduction of our new benefits packages, but the date was a good opportunity to review our policies.
We have improved our maternity, paternity and adoption arrangements. On maternity and adoption there are two main options. These are available to anyone who has done one years service. There is what we call short enhanced leave, which provides 18 weeks at full pay, followed by another eight weeks of statutory maternity pay/statutory adoption pay (SMP/SAP). At the end of that period you have to return to work. This is a generous but more short-term option. The alternative is enhanced long leave, which provides 10 weeks on full pay, then 16 weeks of SMP/SAP, followed by up to 26 weeks unpaid leave.
These two options have been available for some time. Our norm is for around1,500 women to be on maternity leave out of 65,000 employees. Around 200-300 men might be taking paternity leave. For this we offer two weeks off on full pay to any male employee. We also provide paid time off for fathers attending ante-natal classes. It is all about supporting the family unit.
Tanya Frost, colleague relations manager, Asda
We moved on this a year ago as part of our pay review. We produced a booklet called Babies at Asda, in which we offer help with local information, encouraging new parents to think about how their life is going to change. It also contains a ready reckoner about the costs of parenting and what the changes in their income will mean. Getting these benefits right is a key part of recruitment and retention for us.
Women colleagues receive 90% of earnings for the first six weeks, then SMP for up to a year. Managers can opt to come back after three or six months. In both cases, salaries return to 100% of what was being earned before. But people may choose to change their hours maybe work part-time when they return. Our Babies at Asda pack is for both women and men. We have a section on the Asda dad. Paternity leave is available for two weeks at full pay.
