WIREDGOV

Commenting on plans announced yesterday (Thursday) by the Deputy Prime Minister on the government’s response to the Modern Workplaces consultation, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“Shared parental leave is a welcome new step that should encourage more fathers to get involved in childcare from the very beginning.

“But unless it is backed up with better pay many couples simply won’t be able to afford to take it. The government’s own estimates suggest that just 1 in 20 dads would be able to afford to take shared parental leave if it was paid at the current statutory rate of just £137 a week.

“By failing to give parents the right to return to the same job after six months, the government has also missed an opportunity to prevent a constant source of pregnancy discrimination, where mums returning to work find that their job has changed.

“The proposal will create confusion for employers and be a source of anxiety for women who decide to take more than six months of pregnancy leave.”

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- The TUC’s campaign plan can be downloaded from www.tuc.org.uk/campaignplan

- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

- Follow the TUC on Twitter: @tucnews

Contacts:

Media enquiries:
Liz Chinchen   T: 020 7467 1248    M: 07778 158175    E: media@tuc.org.uk
Rob Holdsworth    T: 020 7467 1372    M: 07717 531150     E: rholdsworth@tuc.org.uk
Elly Gibson   T: 020 7467 1337    M: 07900 910624     E: egibson@tuc.org.uk