APPENDIX 20
Memorandum submitted by the Manufacturing
Science Finance (PL 23)
1. MSF welcomes the new rights for working
parents introduced by the Employment Rights Bill. It is clear
that the Government is committed to creating fundamental change
in the lives of working parents by introducing measures which
will enable parents to balance their work and family responsibilities.
Paid Leave
2. MSF feels very strongly that the provision
of parental leave on an unpaid basis will disenfranchise a great
majority of working parents on average incomes who will
not be able to afford to take advantage of the opportunity for
time-off from paid work.
3. It is apparent in reviewing the operation
of parental leave in other European Union states that parents
only take parental leave when it is paid and promoted.
Fathers and parental leave
4. In order for the Government's particular
commitment to encouraging fathers to take time-off to care for
their children to be realised, parental leave must be paid. Fathers
do not take low paid or unpaid leave.
5. There is an acute problem of very low
take up rates for fathers in other European member states. In
Europe, leave attracting no subsidies or low subsidies (eg Portugal,
Spain, Germany and France) acts as an overwhelming disincentive
to fathers to taking leave.
6. Conversely, leave paid on an earnings
related basis encourages results in fathers taking leave, especially
where it is promoted and paid at a high rate, as in Sweden.
7. MSF is very concerned that non-payment
of parental leave will make a legal right for fathers to take
leave redundant in practice. Where MSF has negotiated unpaid parental
leave arrangements, take up is low to non-existent. To illustrate
this, at the beginning of 1995 a nationally based finance sector
company allowed fathers to take three months unpaid parental leave
on top of a few days paid paternity leave around the time of birth.
During the four years since its introduction, there has been no
take up of the unpaid parental leave provision.
8. On the other hand, MSF's numerous agreements
on negotiated paid paternity leave, ranging from 3 to 10 days'
paid leave across all industrial sectors, are very popular with
working fathers.
9. In relation to paid paternity leave,
MSF is concerned that the introduction of new statutory right
to unpaid parental leave will have a negative impact on the rising
trend in paid paternity leave agreements, which rely entirely
on employers' voluntary agreement.
Mothers and parental leave
10. Like working fathers, working mothers
will not take advantage of this opportunity unless it is paid.
A comparison needs to be made with working mothers' current rights
to take unpaid maternity leave. Evidence shows that mothers do
not take full advantage of their current right to take maternity
absence on an unpaid basis.
11. The Department of Social Security Research
Report no: 67 "Maternity Rights and Benefits in Britain"
1996 Claire Callender et al. revealed that 40 per cent of those
women entitled to extended maternity absence (ie up to 29 weeks
post birth) took 18 weeks or less.
12. Furthermore, the Report showed that
only 11 per cent of employers provide any contractual improvements
to statutory maternity leave provision.
13. In the light of this statistic, the
Government cannot realistically expect employers to make contractual
improvements to statutory parental provision.
14. These statistics confirm those in the
"Formal Response of the Equal Opportunities Commission to
the Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Bill" 1993 which
showed that women took a median of 20 weeks for their first child
and 18 weeks leave for subsequent children.
15. As Statutory Maternity Pay covers an
18 week period—at 90 per cent of earnings for 6 weeks and
at a low flat rate for the remaining 12 weeks—it is clear
that working mothers maternity leave coincides with and does not
extend their paid period.
16. In comparison with what is already on
offer to working mothers in terms of unpaid leave, it is highly
unlikely that mothers will take an additional period of unpaid
leave.
17. And unless paid, disabled parents, lone
parents, and low paid workers will not be able to take parental
leave.
An integrated approach
18. On a related point, the Government needs
to adopt an integrated approach to the relationship between maternity
leave and parental leave, and paternity leave and parental leave.
19. For instance, paid or unpaid, consideration
will have to be given to how parental leave relates to maternity
leave which itself is split into paid and unpaid periods, and
to paternity leave which, where offered, is either a contractual
or discretionary right over a few days.
Promotion and monitoring
20. The second issue that MSF believes should
be addressed relates to the promotion and monitoring of parental
leave. It is clear that the Labour Government are key drivers
of cultural, social and family change. The family-friendly measures
add to existing Government initiatives on national childcare provision,
the minimum wage, and anti-discrimination measures for part-time
workers.
21. MSF is concerned that a real balance
between work and family responsibilities, involving employers,
and working mothers and fathers will not be achieved without a
strategy to positively promote both the new rights, new expectations
and the new culture.
22. Furthermore the implementation and the
take up of parental leave needs to be closely and effectively
monitored by the Government, (eg via a Family Commission or Unit),
so that changes can be made where necessary to ensure its take
up.
In conclusion
— to ensure take up by working mothers
and fathers, parental leave should be paid on an earnings linked
basis so that the loss in pay is minimised (eg earnings related
SMP equivalent);
— a parental leave subsidy introduced,
at an amount not less than that provided for flat rate Statutory
Maternity Pay, would only encourage take up by working mothers
and fathers if employers were obliged to top it up;
— an integrated approach needs to be
adopted in its implementation so that there is consistency and
clarity between maternity leave and parental leave and paternity
leave and parental leave;
— it should be effectively promoted
and monitored by the Government;
— it must be measurable against outcomes
relating to targets or objectives in take-up rates, flexibility
in implementation, and best practice.
An MSF Profile
MSF was formed in 1988, the result of a merger
between ASTMS and TASS.
MSF is one of the largest trade unions in the
country. MSF members are employed in all sectors of British industry
and services—in high-tech manufacturing; the health service;
universities; the finance sector; and the voluntary sector.
MSF represents more than 400,000 skilled and
professional people. Women represent 31 per cent of our membership
base.
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