Are you thinking of starting a family, but feel concerned about the implications on your career and finances? Or are you perhaps an employer or HR professional researching how to better support your employees as working parents?

Every year, thousands of employees embark on the life changing event of starting or growing their family, and the last thing they should be experiencing during this time is stress and anxiety regarding their job and financial security. In this blog, we'll go over the best practices to support working parents.

Parental Leave Explained

Before we go into detail about how businesses can support their employees with growing families, let’s start with the basics. 

1. Maternity Leave 

What is Maternity Leave? 

Maternity leave is a form of parental leave granted to new mothers by their employers, and  involves time away from work to recover from the birth of a new baby, and/or to take care of a child  during the early stages of their life. Maternity leave typically begins a few weeks before the baby is due but this can differ, especially in the instance of adoption.

How long is Maternity Leave?

In the UK, mothers are legally entitled up to 52 weeks of maternity leave following childbirth, which means that their employee rights are legally protected during their time away. The associated law is called Statutory Maternity Leave and its aim is to support and protect new mothers.

Maternity leave is typically broken down into 26 weeks of Ordinary Maternity Leave, followed by 26 weeks of Additional Maternity Leave, and all women are entitled to both from the very first day of their employment. 

How much is Statutory Maternity Pay?

Depending on industries and circumstances, maternity pay can vary. However it’s typically paid for up to 39 weeks. At a basic level, mothers receive 90% of their average weekly earnings (before tax) for the first 6 weeks, and 90% of their average weekly earnings or £184.03 (whichever is lower) for the following 33 weeks. 

However, in order to qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay, individuals must earn, on average, at least £123 a week before tax, and need to have worked for their employer continuously for at least 26 weeks by the 15th week before childbirth. 

In the instance that new mothers don’t qualify for Statutory Maternity Leave, are self-employed or have recently stopped working, they can qualify for maternity allowance, which can be claimed for up to 39 weeks of maternity leave, which is the same rate as Statutory Maternity Pay and is paid by the government instead of an employer.

2. Paternity Leave

What is Paternity Leave?

Paternity leave is essentially the equivalent to maternity leave, but for new fathers, where they can take time off to spend time and care for their child during the early stages of their life. 

Although paternity leave differs from maternity leave in terms of the duration of time individuals are entitled to take off work, some employers offer enhanced paternity leave as an employee benefit. 

How long is Paternity Leave? 

Paternity leave in the UK can be either 1 or 2 weeks, and cannot start before childbirth. Also, paternity leave must end within 52 weeks of childbirth and fathers must be employed continuously for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the birth of their child, in order to be legally entitled to it.

It’s up to fathers whether they take 1 or 2 weeks of leave, but each week of leave must be taken in on go. They can also choose whether to take the 2 weeks of leave separately or together, if that’s their choice.  

How much is Statutory Paternity Pay?

Statutory Paternity Pay is much the same as maternity pay, where new fathers are paid 90% of their average weekly earnings (before tax) or £184.03, depending on which amount is lower during their time off. 

In order to be eligible for the Statutory Paternity Pay, individuals must be employed for at least 26 weeks up to any day in the qualifying week, which is the 15th week before the birth of the baby.

Moreover, fathers must earn an average of at least £123 a week before tax to be entitled to paternity pay.

3. Shared Parental Leave

Alternatively, soon-to-be parents can choose to take shared parental leave in the first year after the birth or adoption of their child. Shared Parental Pay is the same rate as Maternity and Paternity Pay.

Eligible parents can take up to 50 weeks of shared parental leave and can receive up to 37 weeks of pay between both parents. There are different ways in which parents can use shared parental leave, which include:

• The birth parent returns to work from maternity leave and takes shared leave at a later date
• The birth parent returns to work and their partner takes shared leave 
• Both parents take leave at the same time
• Both parents use shared parental leave equally and take leave from work at different times
• Both parents return to work at the same time and take shared leave at a later date

How Can Employers Support New Parents? 

According to CIPD’s ‘Employer focus on work parents’ 2022 report, 33% of organisations have a maternity policy that covers statutory minimum requirements, while 41% have a paternity leave policy which provides the statutory 1 to 2 weeks leave entitlement.

Although navigating maternity and paternity leave and pay can be complicated, organisations can offer added benefits to further support new parents, making it a far more enjoyable experience for them, without worrying about their professional - and financial -  future during that time. 

1. Flexible/Hybrid Working

Implementing flexible or hybrid working is a great way to help new parents slowly ease back into work following parental leave, while also allowing them to accommodate the care of a young child and other personal obligations.

This can undoubtedly alleviate some of the added stressors that could come with trying to balance work after becoming a new parent by: 

• Enabling them to be more present during important milestone moments 
• Helping them save money and valuable time where possible by reducing the need to commute 
• Providing more opportunities for adequate rest with naturally shorter work days without the need for daily commutes, ultimately benefiting productivity at work and at home 
• Saving money on childcare simply by being home more

While the implementation of flexible and hybrid work has increased over the last few years, approximately 85% of women leave full-time employment within the first three years of becoming mothers due to lack of flexibility at their workplace.

Not only does this significantly hinder their professional development, it also raises concern for the rising skills gap in the workforce, as well as the increased costs organisations encounter when trying to fill their positions. 

What this means is that when businesses work to support working parents, they’re also working to support their bottom line. Otherwise, they risk losing great talent, time and money.

2. Childcare Support

Oftentimes, provisioning childcare support is a giveaway sign of progressive and modern employers that value their employees and their lives away from work.

While some workplaces have organised nurseries where employees can leave their young children and pick them up at the end of a work day, some organisations don't have the capacity or capabilities to offer that. However, they can, instead, support employees with childcare by providing childcare stipends. 

Stipends are forms of salary deduction benefits, which are paid from employees’ gross salary (before tax), which means the total cost is heavily discounted.

Based on a report by recruitment platform Totaljobs, 35% of returning mothers have reported that they’re struggling with high childcare costs, so by providing such support, employers can further assist their staff’s smooth and stress-free return to their professional obligations.

3. Continuity Planning

It’s the employer’s responsibility to ensure that appropriate plans are in place to cover the employee’s duties during their absence, whether that involves hiring temporary staff or the temporary reallocations of tasks.

Generally, if businesses are able to provide regular training to ensure all staff hold knowledge of primary duties and toles, it may be possible to cover staff absence internally without extra cost, while also allowing for business continuity. 

Nevertheless, if this route is explored organisations must be mindful of employee wellbeing, making sure no member of staff is given an unrealistic workload or feel any added pressure from any extra duties they’ve taken on. 

Additionally, this allows employees on parental leave to feel at ease about how their role and responsibilities will be managed, without them requiring a long period of handover before their leave begins, alleviating them from any extra stress and anxiety this could inflict them.

4. Regular Communication 

The ‘Paths to Parenthood: Uplifting new mothers at work’ report highlights that one of the top five types of support working mothers want to see are regular check-ins to discuss their progress and any challenges they may be facing. 

With this in mind, employers should aim to maintain open lines of communication with employees before, during and after their leave period to:

• Address any concerns to adjustments they may need following their return
• Keep informed or updated about any changes in the workplace
• Discuss the added support they may require during their leave period

Additionally, appropriate documentation of all agreements between employer and employee is crucial, to ensure compliance and a smooth transition into and out of parental leave.

5. Reintegration Support

Based on a study published by The International Journal of Health Sciences and Research, 10 out of 12 women were fearful of reintegration, or rather their return to work following their parental leave. 

In order to address this, employers can implement reintegration support which involves things such as refresher training or a gradual increase in workload, to assist returning employees in slowly finding a new balance between their work commitments and the pressure of being a new parent.

Moreover, introducing onboarding and reorientation programmes can help returnees stay on top of any changes that may have occurred within the company during their time away. This will also reduce feelings of being left out, facilitating a smoother transition altogether.

Creating a Better Work Environment for Parents

All things considered, managing parental leave and offering effective support to employees who become new parents is essential for employers to guarantee operational efficiency. 

By gaining a general understanding of legislations and implementing the best practices mentioned in this blog, employers can help their staff navigate these life changing transitions more seamlessly and cultivate a supportive work environment for working parents. 

Supporting employees during such milestone events in their lives, like parenthood, will also only further solidify their loyalty and commitment to the company. This will ultimately positively contribute to the business’ brand, driving organisational resilience and success. 

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