How to entice men to take shared parental leave

One year on from the introduction of the UK’s Shared Parental Leave (SPL) scheme just one per cent of men are opting to make use of the opportunity.

SPL was first introduced last April and gives parents the option of spreading almost a year's worth of leave between the two of them, rather than the traditional method of the mother being allocated the bulk of the time off.

New research published by My Family Care and the Women’s Business Council shows just one per cent of fathers have chosen to opt for SPL over the traditional two weeks of Paternity Leave, with half saying that they feel taking more time off would be perceived negatively at work, Sky News reports.

Kate Cooper, Head of Research, Policy and Standards at the Institute of Leadership and Management told HR Grapevine that senior males must begin setting an example for the rest of the workforce if the policy is to succeed.