Introduced in April 2015, SPL was designed to let parents share the load of looking after their children, giving fathers a greater role at home and encouraging mothers to get back to work sooner. But new research by economists from the Economics Department and Institute for Policy Research (IPR) at the University of Bath and Cardiff University shows that the policy has fallen flat.
The study which used data from 40,000 households across the UK, found SPL has not affected the number of fathers taking leave, nor the length of leave they choose to take. The research compared families with children born before and after the SPL rollout and the results are clear – paternal leave uptake has not increased, and the leaves being taken are not longer.
The study findings are timely given the new Labour Government’s Manifesto commitment to reviewing the parental leave system within its first year in office. The previous Government’s own evaluation of SPL published last year, found that only 1% of eligible mothers and 5% of eligible fathers took it.
Following this research the IPR have issued a policy brief with three key recommendations which could improve SPL. They are:
Improve the financial terms: UK maternity leave is already among the worst paid in the OECD, and SPL’s pay is even lower. If families are going to use SPL, the financial incentives need to be better.
Simplify the system and provide legal support: The current system is too complicated and hard to navigate. Pairing SPL with legal support for both parents and employers could help.
Loosen eligibility criteria: The strict rules around how long parents have to work for the same employer and how much they earn are making it hard for some to qualify. Easing these restrictions could encourage more dads to take leave.
Dr Jeremy Davies, Deputy CEO of the Fatherhood Institute, a UK charity working to improve support for involved fathers, described the research as a “wake-up call” for the Government:
Shared parental leave - part of a parenting leave system that’s now the worst in Europe for fathers - has officially failed. Many couples aren’t eligible for SPL in the first place; most of those who are can’t afford to use it; fathers can only take the leave if the mother gives up some of hers; and it’s unwieldy for employers to administer. International evidence shows clearly that if we want dads to take a greater share of the caregiving, we need to give them their own leave, paid at a rate where they can afford to take it.
Dr Joanna Clifton-Sprigg from the University of Bath commented:
Our work demonstrates that this policy, although conceptually desirable, in practice has not changed decisions of an average household with regards to who is the primary caregiver of the child in their first year of life. This is an important finding, particularly in a society that seeks to reduce gender inequalities at work and in which parents are increasingly wanting to be both active in their child’s life right from the start.
Professor Eleonora Fichera from the University of Bath added:
Although the introduction of SPL is certainly welcome, our study suggests that the devil is in the detail. The design of the policy as it stands does not change care-taking roles within an average household in the U.K.
Professor Melanie Jones from Cardiff University added:
Our evidence is stark. SPL has been completely ineffective in encouraging fathers to take more and longer leave at the birth of their child.
Dr Ezgi Kaya from Cardiff University added:
Our analysis reveals that the introduction of SPL in the UK has not led to significant changes in how fathers utilise parental leave. This raises important questions about the effectiveness of the policy in achieving its intended goals.
Real-life experiences: Dads speak out on SPL
Ricky Skinner from Bristol took SPL when his son was three months old:
I didn’t know any other dads taking SPL so there was no one to talk to about the experience I was having, other than my wife. When people found out I was taking SPL there were some raised eyebrows. Some people thought my wife was super generous to share leave which added to the stigma. It was challenging walking into a baby club and being the only dad in the room. I felt uncomfortable, like there was a barrier there and I got the sense that conversation topics changed to surface pleasantries – people were censoring themselves in my presence. But SPL gave me the opportunity to do things mothers get to-do and create more of a bond with my son. The process of taking SPL was tiresome. My employer was supportive but they were trying to understand how to make it work, so there was a lot of back and forth questions. I think it needs to be more streamlined for employers and dads so it’s easier to get it over the line.
Leo Montague, a Labour councillor and University of Bath graduate from Milton Keynes, and his wife Flo have three children. Reflecting on his experience, Leo said:
I would have loved to take more than two weeks off with my kids, but the reality is we just couldn’t afford it. As the main breadwinner, cutting my income down to statutory pay after two weeks would have meant struggling to pay the mortgage. Shared Parental Leave only works if both parents’ employers offer generous pay, which isn’t the case for most families. The policy simply isn’t fit for purpose. We need a paternity leave law that guarantees at least three months of full pay to give dads a real chance to be there for their families.
Tom Urry, an international development consultant from Bristol and father of two had a positive experience of SPL:
I took four weeks of holiday and one week of unpaid leave as that was all I could afford financially. The process with HR was straightforward. The time spent one-on-one with my daughter was incredibly valuable, especially since I hadn’t had much of that before—and haven’t had much since. It was a great bonding experience, but also a reminder of how hard maternity leave is for mums.
An anonymous father of two from Bristol wanted to take SPL but it didn’t go to plan. He said:
I was really happy that my line manager strongly encouraged and backed me in seeking to take it. Unfortunately, my experience was that the guidance online and from my HR team was complicated to follow… I did not get the impression our HR team really understood how the policy worked or how they should advise employees about it.