Many employers think the new parental rights under the Work and Families Act, due to come into force next April, will cause them ‘difficulties’.
That’s the finding of a joint study by KPMG and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
The legislation extends maternity and adoption pay from six to nine months and extends the right to request flexible working to carers of adults.
In addition the act gives the government the power to introduce 26 weeks’ additional paternity leave – some of which could be paid if the mother returns to work – and extend maternity pay to 12 months.
Only around a tenth of employers surveyed think that any of the provisions of the WFA 2006 will be beneficial to their organisations.
Smaller employers are more likely than larger employers to cite potential difficulties and less likely to see potential benefits.
Almost two-thirds (64 per cent) of employers surveyed think that the paternity leave provisions of the WFA 2006 will cause them either some or significant difficulties while 57 per cent think the maternity and adoption pay provisions will cause difficulties.
Attitudes towards extending the right to request flexible working are more positive. Only 4 per cent of employers surveyed think that the new right for carers to request flexible working will cause them significant difficulties. Although 36 per cent expect this to cause them some difficulty.
However, 35 per cent are strongly in favour of extending the right to request flexible working to all employees, and only 13 per cent are strongly against.
Mike Emmott, CIPD adviser, employee relations, said: “These results do not necessarily indicate hostility to the Work and Families Act.
“Most good employers recognise the importance of work life balance and, as the CIPD/KPMG survey shows, many already offer more than what is provided for in the WFA 2006.
“However, it is clear from the survey that there is evident scepticism about some of the WFA provisions, especially those relating to paternity leave, and concern about the difficulties that might arise in meeting them.
“It is possible that such reservations simply reflect the caution with which employers tend to embrace any new regulations. But the government needs to reassure employers about the administration of the new provisions.
“The new rights for fathers won’t be introduced before 2008 at the earliest, but it is important for the government to use the intervening time to ensure that the provisions will help workers with families without making life more difficult for those who employ them.
“Until they know how the new arrangements will work, employers will be understandably worried about the likely complexity of, in effect, transferring statutory leave and pay from mothers to fathers.”
Rachel Campbell, head of people management, KPMG, added: “For KPMG, the business cases for diversity and flexible working are compelling.
“Organisations are aiming to attract the very best talent in the marketplace from the widest talent pool. To be successful we recognise the need to truly embrace flexible working while balancing this with the needs of our clients.
“It is not sufficient to merely have it ‘on offer’ and it is not credible for it to be labelled as something only relevant to women.
“We have been able to support 12 per cent of our employees undertaking some form of flexible working and 25 per cent of those taking up the options are men.”
