Negotiating on shared parental leave

New and prospective parents will not be in a position to decide whether to take advantage of shared parental leave until they know how it will operate in their workplace and crucially at what rate it will be paid. Workplace reps will want to ensure that members are well informed about how shared parental leave will work as the rules on notifying employers are quite complex.

The government estimates that take-up of shared parental leave will be between 2% and 8% of those eligible to do so. Given the low rate of pay for statutory paternity leave, higher take-up of shared parental leave is likely to depend on negotiators’ success in securing a higher rate of pay during shared parental leave.