Father’s Day is this Sunday and it pertinently reminds us that the traditional role of fathers within society is changing. Quite rightly so. It seems to make perfect sense that men are taking on far more of the caring responsibilities within their homes and are asking to spend more time with their children and families. As a result, legislation and businesses have had to become far more flexible in order to embrace changing household dynamics.
Should employers be going above and beyond statutory measures?
O2’s announcement in May 2019 that they were going above and beyond the standard 2 weeks statutory paternity leave and offering all of their male employees 14 weeks paternity leave on full pay, has been heralded as a progressive and forward thinking move.
The thinking behind the decision goes far beyond just accepting that family life has changed in the last 3 decades. Following the announcement, O2 staff flooded on to social media to say how proud they were to work for such a progressive company. Corporate pride within their employees went through the roof and O2 will undoubtedly find it easier to recruit and retain a high-quality workforce. For people starting out on the career ladder, the benefit of improved paternal rights will be a huge draw.
While it may not be possible for smaller businesses to be as generous as O2, there is still an argument for implementing improved flexible working practices for fathers. HR policies should be more than just knowing and applying the key legislation, which includes paternity leave, shared parental leave, adoption leave and flexible working. It is about creating an organisational culture that demonstrates that your company understands the needs of your staff and that you can support them efficiently and effectively. Education is key! Dakota Blue’s Management Development Programme covers aspects of employee relations, including implementing family friendly policies and flexible working, whilst encouraging participants to implement what they have learnt in the workplace.
Let’s hear it for the dads
With a current climate where the number of new fathers claiming Statutory Paternity Pay is falling (figures released in 2018 showed a drop of 3%) and the UK Maternity and Paternity Rights Survey revealing that almost a third of new fathers take less than two weeks paternity leave, it’s time that we started to make some changes. Removing the stigma around flexible and part-time working could be a start. When 1 in 5 workers interviewed say that they have experienced direct negative consequences as a result of working flexibly, it makes you begin to understand why new fathers may be worried about requesting the workplace benefits that they legally deserve.
If you would like to discuss how your business can implement more progressive paternity policies, please get in touch with us or book a member of your team onto one of our Management Development Programmes.