Around 13 million working parents in the UK are juggling childcare responsibilities alongside the demands of a job.
Making the workplace more family friendly has long been a challenge for businesses who need to balance their own objectives and goals alongside those of their employees.
Family Friendly Workplaces
A family friendly workplace is one that incorporates policies that directly support their workforce through a combination of statutory legislation and company-level policies. This allows staff to get a good balance between work responsibilities and home commitments.
Recent research from the Fawcett Society, surveying 3,000 working parents with at least one child four years old or under, reveals that
72% of parents have had to take unpaid leave due to their childcare duties.
Over the years governments have introduced family friendly initiatives such as shared parental leave, assistance towards the cost of childcare through the childcare Voucher scheme, an extension to the right to request flexible working, and enhancement of parental leave to cover all children up to age 18.
Now a series of new reforms are being introduced.
Changes to Paternity Leave
These
changes, which apply in all cases where the expected week of childbirth falls on or after 6 April 2024, now allow paternity leave to be split into two blocks of one week at any point in the first year after the birth or adoption of their child.
The Notice period required for each period of leave has also been shortened to 28 days, or 4 weeks, instead of 15 weeks before the expected week of childbirth.
Statutory Paternity Pay will also increase from £172.48 to £184.03 per week.
Extended Legal Protection From Redundancy During Family Leave
From 6 April 2024, redundancy protections will be extended for those on maternity, adoption and shared parental leave.
Employees will be entitled to suitable alternative employment in a redundancy situation, in preference to other employees at risk, not just during pregnancy, but for 18 months after the expected week of childbirth.
Similar protections are in place for those on adoption leave and shared parental leave.
Free Childcare Expanded
- From April 2024, the first stage of the rollout will see working parents of two-year-olds being able to access 15 hours of free childcare.
- From September 2024, 15 hours of free childcare will be extended down to the age of nine months for working parents.
- From September 2025, working parents of children aged nine months and upwards will be entitled to 30 hours free childcare per week right up to their child starting school.
Eligible working parents of three- and four-year-olds already get 30 hours a week of free childcare.
Family Friendly Benefits
The Fawcett report also shows that 2 in 3 UK workers view employers who offer family-friendly benefits more positively.
Offering a suite of family friendly policies makes good business sense as it helps with recruitment and retention, enhances employee wellbeing and creates a more welcoming and appealing workplace for new recruits.
Best Practice for SMEs
- Make sure there’s no stigma around those who have families and need to work flexibly.
- Make sure that those who work flexibly, or part time, still have equal access to development and promotion opportunities.
- Understand your legal responsibilities. Make sure you apply the latest legislation, such as the new Day 1 right to request flexible working.
- Update policies and ensure all staff have access to the right information and resources.
- Provide training and information for line managers.
- Feedback from staff – what else do they need to help them do their jobs better?
- Ensure good record keeping and correct, up to date documentation. You can find family-orientated request forms and related templates for flexible working and shared parental leave in the ‘Family Matters’ section of WorkSmarter’s Document Library.
Ensure Compliance, Avoid Potential Pitfalls
Employment law is one of the most complicated areas to deal with and can be fraught with risk, particularly when laws change.
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