On 3 April, sweeping changes were made to the paternity legislation giving fathers a right to up to six months extra leave which can be taken once the mother has returned to work. This is paid at the same standard rate as Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) which is currently £123.06.[1]

Whilst many companies have implemented new paternity policies; the new paternity legislation will throw up a number of challenges for organisations managing the changes. Talking Talent, an executive coaching company specialising in maternity and paternity programmes recently surveyed over 100 fathers about the legislation and found that almost half of all men welcomed it. 46 percent of fathers said they would welcome the opportunity to share parental leave, just a third (33 percent) said they didn’t plan to use the leave, and 18 percent were undecided.However, the men raised several barriers to taking up this leave, including financial pressures, workload responsibilities and fears of going against traditional cultural stereotypes, where the responsibility for childcare traditionally falls to women. Some men also believed their earning potential might be damaged if they took extra time off.

Chris Parke, CEO of Talking Talent, comments: “Now the legislation is in place, companies need to ensure they have a comprehensive paternity programme in place, ideally complete with support processes for men who opt to take extended leave. Almost half of the men we surveyed would opt for additional leave and companies need to be prepared for a high level of requests and have the ability to manage the impact of their absence on the business.” Below is a ten point checklist for businesses from Talking Talent and advice for fathers taking paternity leave:

1: Review internal policies and practices around paternity leave to ensure there is clear and up-to-date information and guidance for staff around managing parental leave.

2: Define your philosophy on paternity leave, including the levels of pay you will offer .

3: Decide on the support you will provide for men taking extended paternity leave, such as benefits or training.

4: Consider if you will emulate your maternity policies in order to ensure you treat men and women equally.   

5: Ensure you have best practice materials which outline your company policies and approach to the new legislation.

6: Communicate clearly your policies and procedures to line managers. This will ensure any requests for extended paternity leave will be handled in a seamless and consistent way.

7: HR and line managers  need to communicate these policies to employees.

8: Consider offering coaching programmes to employees to help them prepare both emotionally and practically for the transition. The coaching should cover how they communicate taking extended leave; how they handle and cover their workload responsibilities, and how to manager their return to work effectively.

9: Look at scenarios that could pose potential challenges – for example, currently there is no legal obligation for men to announce they are taking paternity leave. Whilst short notice may be ok if men are only taking two weeks, if they want to take six months suddenly this may leave a big gap in the business. Putting a contingency plan in place is a good idea and it could be a good time to build greater flexibility into the workforce.

10: Plan ahead now and that way, when the first request comes in, your business is ready.

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