A pair of employment partners at Knights have welcomed a government review into parental leave – as they label the 18-month timeline as “realistic” if they want to get it right.
The “landmark” review, announced on 1 July 2025, will look at all existing entitlements -aiming to address and refine areas such as the amount of pay new parents get after the birth of a child, as well as the length of time off they’ll be entitled to.
Adele Hayfield is in the organisation’s Birmingham office. She says the timeline gives the issues at hand a credible amount of time to be properly considered: “I’ve been struck by the negative noise around this 18-month timeline, but I personally think it’s important to note the significance and complexity of the task at hand – with millions of people impacted by the changes.
“Completely redesigning the UK’s parental leave system is a big task with a lot of different areas to consider. It’s vital this is not rushed as, in many respects, the current system doesn’t work effectively for parents, and the government doesn’t have an infinite amount of time to deal with this - particularly in view of the wider employment law reforms currently being progressed. I think it’s better that they give a wider, more realistic, timeframe than overpromise with a shorter period and risk underdelivering.”
Leeds-based, Laura McLellan, says simplifying the current system will take time: “I think if you were to ask a member of the public what family leave rights they had, many of them would respond ‘one year for women and two weeks for men’. However, I’d wager that very few would be able to go into too much detail on qualifying criteria for maternity leave or explain how shared parental leave works.
“If you take shared parental leave for example, since its introduction in 2014, there has been very little uptake because it is so complicated. It is also set up in a way that doesn’t work for businesses, for example with allowing discontinuous periods of leave, so they’re not proactively promoting it as an option for their employees. It shouldn’t be that way but unfortunately, it’s the lived reality for so many.
“If it was just a case of increasing paternity leave from two weeks to six weeks then potentially this could be achieved a lot quicker, but the government has committed to reviewing the entirety of family leave options, presumably with all options on the table. If there is the potential for sweeping changes to the benefit of families, whilst some people might be disappointed with the 18-month timeline, I think it’s necessary to ensure we reach the right outcome. It’s difficult to see what that right outcome looks like, but I think an increase in paternity leave to six weeks is the very minimum new dads should be getting.”
Adele adds: “I think it is important to have a new, more simplified system when it comes to family friendly rights because, as we’ve mentioned, large proportions of the current framework, particularly around shared parental leave, is just not utilised. The current system is not in line with what modern society requires, so it’s important that we have a more updated and simplified approach which looks to tackle issues such as the so-called motherhood penalty.
“Naturally, people will look at other parental leave models across the world to assess what a new system could incorporate, and, although it would be sensible to see what’s worked in other jurisdictions, it’s important we design something that is fit for purpose for the UK and that will realistically take time.”