Why Shared Parental Leave is the new flexible working

HR needs to keep abreast of its own policies in order to make the most of Shared Parental Leave (SPL) legislation, according to industry leaders.

Yesterday HR Grapevine reported that a year on from the introduction of the legislation, which 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, only one per cent of men have taken advantage of the change.

Commenting on the figures, Collette Huckle, UK Brand Manager for recruitment firm Reed Human Resources, told HR Grapevine that HR needs to be aware of the culture of their organisation in order to facilitate the change.

“As this is the first year that SPL has been in force, there still needs to be a cultural change before we see more men take up the option,” she said.