In November 2017 the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) opened an inquiry into the subject of fathers and the workplace. On 20 March 2018 the WEC published a report setting out their findings and making recommendations to Government on where further action could be taken. On 14 June 2018 the Government published its response to the Report (the Response). In this briefing we consider the Government's responses to the recommendations.
Employment status and parental rights
Report
1. The Report called for greater harmonisation of family leave and pay entitlements for parents, regardless of their employment status (i.e. employee, worker, agency worker and self-employed). In particular, the Report recommended that rights be enhanced for self-employed parents in a number of areas such as: antenatal appointments, paternity leave and pay and shared parental leave and pay.
2. The Report recommended that a statement of parental benefits should be included in the written statements of particulars.
Response
1. DEFERRED: The Government does not rule out enhancing such rights for self-employed parents "in the future" but that this should be "alongside reforms to tax, benefits and rights over the longer term".
Separately, the Response highlights the Government's intention to provide greater clarity on employment status in future which, it is said, should help fathers to access existing parental rights.
2. DEFERRED: This recommendation is to be considered as part of the deliberations on a separate consultation on increasing transparency in the labour market.
Report
1. Currently, employed fathers are entitled to take unpaid time off work to attend up to two antenatal appointments with their partner. The Report recommended that employed fathers should be entitled to paid time off and this should be a "Day 1" employment right (and that agency workers should be entitled to unpaid time off to attend, and then paid time off once they have been engaged for 12 weeks or more).
2. The Report recommended that the Government review the limitation on the number of appointments.
Response
1. REJECTED: The Government rejects the recommendation to provide paid time off to attend appointments on the basis that the current position "strikes the right balance" between the father's and the employer's interests.
2. DEFERRED: The Government says it will consider lifting the restriction on the number of appointments where there are multiple births.
Report
1. The Report recommended that employed fathers should be entitled to two weeks' paid paternity leave as a "Day 1" employment right. Agency worker fathers and self-employed fathers should be entitled to paternity pay and allowance respectively, mirroring the entitlement for agency worker mothers and self-employed mothers.
2. The Report also recommended that the statutory rate of paternity pay should be increased to 90% of earnings (capped), to more closely reflect the position for maternity pay.
Response
1. DEFERRED: The Government says there is a debate to be had as to whether the higher public cost of these recommendations are warranted by the potential benefits. In order to have that debate, good quality information is needed on the way the existing entitlements are used in practice. They intend to gather this information in the 2018 edition of the "Maternity and Paternity Rights Survey" (the Survey).
2. DEFERRED: As above.
Report
Radically, the Report recommended abolishing the system of shared parental leave and pay introduced in 2015 and replacing it with a system of 12 weeks' paternal leave and pay for employed and agency worker fathers. This should be a stand-alone entitlement, not contingent upon the mother giving up any of her leave or pay, and it should be paid at 90% of pay for four weeks and the statutory rate for the remaining eight weeks.
Response
DEFERRED: The Government says that when analysing the data from the Survey it is helpful to keep alternatives in mind and the findings will help determine whether and how shared parental leave and pay may need to be reformed. They go on to say that this "may include the consideration of a dedicated period of leave for fathers and partners".
Yet it seems that the Government remains committed to the policy of shared parental leave, noting that it has the potential to be "more transformative" than the alternative of providing a dedicated pot of leave when it comes to promoting more equal sharing of childcare and work responsibilities.
Report
The Report called on the Government to legislate to ensure that all new jobs were made available for flexible working, unless the employer was able to demonstrate an immediate and continuing business case for not doing so.
Response
REJECTED: The Government will pursue a voluntary approach to this issue, in advance of the evaluation of the flexible working legislation which is due to take place in 2019. This evaluation will take into account the work of the Flexible Working Taskforce (co-chaired by BEIS and the CIPD) who are looking at promoting flexible working by default from the point of recruitment.
Report
The Report recommended that the Government collect data on the take-up and reason for take-up of these parental rights in order to assess the effectiveness of these policies.
Response
ACCEPTED: The Response says the Survey will ask questions about the take-up of these rights. The Government "will investigate the feasibility" of also asking about the reason for taking up the rights. A similar survey will address similar issues from the employer perspective.
Report
The Report recommended that the Government consider adding "paternity" to the list of characteristics protected under the Equality Act 2010.
Response
NO RESPONSE: The rather opaque response to this recommendation is simply that the Government will monitor the results of the Survey to "gain a greater understanding of the experience of working fathers".
Comment
The Government was accused of a rather limp response to the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices, when it promoted voluntary responses and guidance and sought to consult further on a large number of issues. This approach of avoiding a legislative response and of 'kicking the can down the road' appears to have continued in its response to the WEC's Report. Indeed, the Chair of the WEP, Conservative MP, Maria Miller said: "The Government has previously voiced good intentions when it comes to family friendly policies but the response to our report is a missed opportunity."
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