The Conservative Party conference last October included an announcement the right to shared parental leave (“SPL”) and pay would be extended to working grandparents. The government is expected to consult on the matter early this year.
The current SPL allows mothers, fathers, partners and adoptive parents to share a total of 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of statutory pay in the first year of a child’s life. The Government’s proposal will extend this regime to include grandparents.
Since 30 June 2014, all employees with sufficient service have the right to request flexible leave, something previously reserved for parents and certain carers. Grandparents could therefore request flexible working to look after grandchildren. This right is limited and there is no entitlement, there is only a right to request. It is also of limited value where a grandparent assistance may only be required for a few months.
“More than half of mothers rely on grandparents for childcare”
More than half of mothers rely on grandparents for childcare. Almost 2 million grandparents have given up work and or reduced their hours to help cut childcare costs.
According to the Chancellor this new right will be “good for the economy”. Involving extended family in childcare arrangements will enable parents to return to work more quickly (if they want to). And with more people working longer, it will also help more grandparents stay in employment and combine this with childcare, rather than just quitting their job or reducing their hours to help out.
It is likely to be helpful for single parent families, or for those whose partners do not meet the criteria for SPL.
There are however potential problems, SPL is still in the teething stages for employers and introducing a new practice will be a headache for companies. There will also be more admin to get to grips with the extended rights and dealing with more requests.
There is also a question over how valuable the right will actually be in practice and whether parents will want to reduce the amount of leave they take in the first year.
Research has shown that grandparents often help after the mother has returned to work and at the end of maternity leave.
It will be interesting to see what rights if any actually emerge. We will be monitoring the consultation and will update as details emerge.
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