Extended shared parental leave

On the 5th October, George Osborne announced that from 2018, shared parental leave will extend to include working Grandparents.

This means that working mothers will be able to end their maternity leave early, in order to share the leave and pay with Grandparents.

As much as I appreciate the reasoning behind this legislative change, i.e. encouraging working mothers back into the workplace so not to delay their career development, plus the recognition that Grandparents play a key part in supporting working parents and providing childcare, I can’t help but wonder if it has all gone a little too far.

Yes, the evidence is overwhelming – nearly 2 million Grandparents have given up work, reduced their hours or taken time off to help families who cannot afford childcare costs – but is this really a workplace issue?!

The SME clients we service are already challenged by the changes to accommodate universal flexible working and this process could be used – and has already successfully been used – to accommodate Grandparents supporting childcare.

Whatever happened to the mantra of not having children unless you can afford to care for them?! Perhaps it’s the cost of living that needs addressing….. more on national living wage

Need advice on universal flexible working then give HR180 a call!

Sources:
www.gov.uk
www.personneltoday.com