Survey results on Additional Paternity Leave and Pay
Working Families has carried out a survey of employers’ readiness for the employment law changes to Additional Paternity Leave (APL) and Pay, introduced for parents of babies due on or after 3rd April 2011.
The survey found that:
- 60% of employers had already updated their policies to reflect the introduction of APL and ASPP (Additional Statutory Paternity Pay) but 40% had not yet done so. However, most of those who have not made changes plan to do so within two months.
- 19 % of the employers who have made policy changes plan to pay fathers six weeks on full pay when they take APL. A wide range of policies are proposed for after the first six weeks – some plan to offer further enhancements, others reflect SMP (Statutory Maternity Pay) rates with six weeks of enhanced pay followed by the statutory rates.
- 2 out of 3 employers who have made policy changes plan to pay fathers only the statutory paternity pay during APL even though 65% of these offer enhanced maternity pay for the equivalent weeks to a female employee on maternity leave.
- 64% of employers saw APL as a legal obligation that they would have to comply with, but 22% saw its potential as a means of improving operational effectiveness.