Inquiry into paternity leave and shared parental leave

27 December 2024

Hot on the heels of the campaign by The Dad Shift which highlighted that shared parental leave (SPL) is not accessible to lower incomer families (but not necessarily caused by that), the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) has called for evidence on any of the following matters:

The extent to which SPL has given parents choice and flexibility in how they share parenting responsibilities.

The longer-term equality impacts and labour market impacts of SPL, particularly for women.

Reasons for low take-up of SPL and possible solutions.

Addressing inequalities in SPL take-up (including inequalities related to ethnicity, income, education and occupational status).

Alternatives to the current “maternal transfer” model of SPL.

Lessons from other countries.

WEC, which is conducting an inquiry into equality at work, believes an unequal division of childcaring responsibilities causes wider gender inequality and the gender pay gap, and it has the aim of identifying the most effective ways of incentivising a more equal sharing of childcare and wider domestic responsibilities between parents.

This opportunity will end on 31 January 2025.

This blog was written by Ben Lindsay, Solicitor at didlaw.

Mother and Child

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