Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T21:58:03.106Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Shared Parental Leave in the UK: can it advance gender equality by changing fathers into co-parents?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2017

Jamie Atkinson
Jamie Atkinson*
Affiliation:
Manchester Law School, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. E-mail: [email protected].
*
[email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The paper aims to provide a critique of Shared Parental Leave (SPL) in the UK from a gender equality perspective, namely to assess whether SPL is capable of enabling more men to take leave in order to act as the main carer for their child. Leave policies in Nordic countries, where the rate of take-up by fathers is high, are also examined. It argues that SPL is open to legal challenge by fathers who do not meet the eligibility criteria, as the SPL scheme as currently drafted breaches the terms of the EU Parental Leave Directive and is also discriminatory on grounds of sex. The paper concludes that SPL is flawed as a policy. Whilst the UK government argues for a more equal division of childcare between father and mother, it seems unwilling to challenge the expectation that mothers provide the primary care for young children. Thus SPL will only be successful if the policy is reformed to include a higher rate of pay and a period of leave reserved for fathers.

Type
Articles
Information
International Journal of Law in Context , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , September 2017 , pp. 356 - 368
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baird, M. and O'Brien, M. (2015) ‘Dynamics of Parental Leave in Anglophone Countries: The Paradox of State Expansion in the Liberal Welfare Regime’, Community, Work & Family 18(2): 198–217.Google Scholar
Brandth, B. and Kvande, E. (2016) ‘Fathers and Flexible Parental Leave’, Work, Employment and Society 30(2): 275–290.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) (2016) ‘Labour Market Outlook – Focus on Working Parents’. Available at: <www.cipd.co.uk/Images/labour-market-outlook-focus-on-working-parents_tcm18-17048.pdf> (accessed 27 January 2017).+(accessed+27+January+2017).>Google Scholar
Collier, R. and Sheldon, S. (2008) Fragmenting Fatherhood: A Socio-Legal Study. Oxford: Hart Publishing.Google Scholar
Department for Business Innovation and Skills (2011) Consultation on Modern Workplaces. Available at: <https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/31551/11-699-3-consultation-modern-workplaces-parental-leave.pdf> (accessed 7 March 2016).+(accessed+7+March+2016).>Google Scholar
Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) (2011) Maternity and Paternity Rights and Women Returners Survey 2009/2010, Department of Work and Pensions Research Report No 777. Available at: <http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rrs-index.asp> (accessed 21 April 2017).+(accessed+21+April+2017).>Google Scholar
Dermott, E. (2008) Intimate Fatherhood: A Sociological Analysis. Oxford: Routledge.Google Scholar
Golynker, O. (2015) ‘Family-Friendly Reform of Employment Law in the UK: An Overstretched Flexibility’, Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law 37(3): 378–392.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gornick, J. and Meyers, M. (2009) Gender Equality: Transforming Family Divisions of Labor. London: Verso.Google Scholar
Haas, L. and Rostgaard, T. (2011) ‘Fathers’ Rights to Paid Parental Leave in the Nordic Countries: Consequences for the Gendered Division of Leave’, Community, Work & Family 14(2): 177–195.Google Scholar
Hm Treasury (2004) Choice for Parents, the Best Start for Children: A Ten Year Strategy for Childcare. Available at: <webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130129110402/ http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/pbr04childcare_480upd050105.pdf> (accessed 4 April 2017).+(accessed+4+April+2017).>Google Scholar
Hobson, B. and Morgan, D. (2002) ‘Introduction’ in Hobson, B. (ed.) Making Men into Fathers: Men, Masculinities and the Social Politics of Fatherhood. Cambridge: CUP.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewis, J. (2002) ‘The Problem of Fathers: Policy and Behavior in Britain’ in Hobson, B. (ed.) Making Men into Fathers: Men, Masculinities and the Social Politics of Fatherhood. Cambridge: CUP.Google Scholar
Lewis, J. (2010) Work-Family Balance, Gender and Policy. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.Google Scholar
Mezey, N. and Pillard, C. (2012) ‘Against the New Maternalism’, Michigan Journal of Gender and Law 18(2): 229–296.Google Scholar
Miller, T. (2011) Making Sense of Fatherhood. Cambridge: CUP.Google Scholar
Moss, P. (2015) ‘International Review of Leave Policies and Research 2015’. Available at: <http://www.leavenetwork.org/fileadmin/Leavenetwork/Annual_reviews/2015_full_review3_final_8july.pdf> (accessed 21 April 2017).+(accessed+21+April+2017).>Google Scholar
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2013) ‘Women in the Labour Market’. Available at: <www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/womeninthelabourmarket/2013-09-25> (accessed 15 March 2017).+(accessed+15+March+2017).>Google Scholar
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2016) ‘Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings: 2016 Provisional Results’. Available at: <www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/annualsurveyofhoursandearnings/2016provisionalresults> (accessed 15 March 2017).+(accessed+15+March+2017).>Google Scholar
Resolution Foundation (2012) ‘The Price of Motherhood: Women and Part-Time Work’. Available at: <www.resolutionfoundation.org/app/uploads/2014/08/The-price-of-motherhood-women-and-part-time-work.pdf> (accessed 15 March 2017).+(accessed+15+March+2017).>Google Scholar
Rosenblum, D. (2012) ‘Unsex Mothering: Toward a New Culture of Parenting’, Harvard Journal of Law and Gender 35(1): 57–116.Google Scholar
Working Families (2016) Shared Parental Leave: The Perspective from Employers. Accessed at <http://www.workingfamilies.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Working-Families-SPL-briefing-paper-January-2016.pdf> (accessed 21 April 2017).+(accessed+21+April+2017).>Google Scholar
Wortis, R. (1972) ‘Childrearing and Women's Liberation’ in Wandor, M. (ed.) The Body Politic: Women's Liberation in Britain 1969–1972. London: Stage One.Google Scholar