Lack of parental leave impacts decision to start families, new study shows – as one in 10 get just a week with newborn

HALF of parents claim the lack of parental leave at work has impacted their decision to start a family.

A study of 500 adults who’ve had a baby in the last five years – or plan to – found 48 per cent cited parental leave as a major factor in their plans.

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Currently, statutory paternity or co-parent leave for those who do not qualify for maternity, primary adopter or other primary parental leave policies is just two weeks – and often not on full pay.

But 74 per cent think this is ‘outdated’ in the modern world.

And 69 per cent don’t feel two weeks is long enough to adjust to becoming a parent and bond with their child.

It also emerged those who’ve had a baby took an average of nearly three weeks off in paid leave – but 10 per cent only had a maximum of a week at home with their little one.

However, 61 per cent wanted to have more time off, with 32 per cent believing this would have helped them to grow closer to their child.

The study was commissioned by Kellanova – the parent company of Kellogg’s and Pringles – to announce a new co-parent policy for its employees offering up to 10 weeks of paid leave within a year of the baby’s birth.

This applies to fathers or same sex female relationships, where only one parent is currently entitled to take maternity leave.

Elly Campbell Godkin, senior HR manager at Kellanova, which will also offer paid time off for employees who have pregnant partners to attend antenatal classes and appointments, said: “When I had my first child last year, I knew that I didn’t want to take a full year out from work.

“I’d recently been appointed into a new role that I really wanted to get started in, so my husband and I fully shared our leave.

‘’We both wanted quality time off with our daughter and taking five months off each allowed us to learn how to be the best parents we could be – as individuals and together.’’

The study also revealed 32 per cent of parents believe they would get just the statutory paternity or co-parent leave of up to two weeks paid if they had a child.

Of those who would have liked to take more time off than they did, 54 per cent couldn’t afford to, while 23 per cent didn’t think it was an option.

Others worried about the stigma – particularly for men – around taking time off (15 per cent) or what their colleagues would think (13 per cent), while 12 per cent felt it was frowned upon in their workplace.

But 41 per cent of those polled, via OnePoll, would have felt more relaxed knowing they had additional time with their child, while 25 per cent feel they would have missed out on fewer milestones, such as their child’s first smile.

Simon Kelleher, head of policy and influencing at Working Families, said: “We welcome Kellanova’s decision to offer an enhanced parental leave package, particularly given that all its employees will be offered it as a day one right.

“Our research indicates that individuals may hesitate to take parental leave due to the negative implications on their finances.

“We encourage other employers to follow suit in implementing enhanced parental leave policies.

“This not only supports employees during the crucial first year of their child’s life, but also underscores the need for action from government.

“As our Working Families Index polling reveals that only 29 per cent of lower income working parents have access to enhanced leave, policymakers need to review statutory pay levels and introduce extended leave for fathers or secondary caregivers.”

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This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk