Shared parental leave will modernise today's working culture

Acas have published a new guide on shared parental leave (SPL), a new legal right allowing couples to share maternity or adoption leave and pay, effective from 5 April 2015.

Under SPL, a pregnant woman will continue to have access to 52 weeks of maternity leave and 39 weeks of pay as she does currently. However, from 5 April, working families will have the opportunity to share this leave.

The government is introducing SPL and pay for employed parents to make the current system for maternity and adoption leave more flexible. According to estimates from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), there are expected to be approximately 285,000 working couples eligible to share leave from April.

Employment relations minister, Jo Swinson, said: "As the minister responsible for modernising our working culture, I'm delighted that we're introducing shared parental leave from next April which will let couples choose how to share time away from work to care for their new baby in a way that suits them best. Dads have a key role to play in the early weeks and months of a baby's life and it is right that the arrangements for parental leave should reflect that."

Sarah Jackson, CEO of work/life balance charity Working Families, said: "Shared parental leave is a significant opportunity for a new generation of parents and for their employers. It offers employers a way into an early conversation with their working fathers and gives parents the chance to start their family life together, simultaneously on leave."

A key feature of SPL is that it can be taken in several blocks. Eligible parents will be able to make use of a mixture of weeks of work and leave in the first year of their child's life, returning to work between periods of leave if they wish. A parent with a partner who adopts a child will have the same rights, as will parents in surrogacy.

Acas' free detailed guide is designed to prepare employers and employees for the changes. It includes a step by step guide on how eligible employees can make an SPL request to their employer and advice for employers on how to deal with SPL requests fairly.

Head of guidance at Acas, Stewart Gee, said: "Our guide was produced with input from large and small employers, family groups and trade unions and is designed to ensure working parents and employers alike can understand the new shared parental leave arrangements.

"We advise employers and employees to start early with discussions to ensure that they can agree the sort of arrangements which work best for business and working families. We are also running training courses to help employers prepare for the legal changes."

Commenting on Acas' new publication, Swinson, said: "The guide will be welcomed by both employers and employees as they prepare for the new system which will help working families and boost economic growth. Shared parental leave is not only good news for parents-to-be, but for employers who will benefit from having a workforce that is more flexible and motivated."

Acas' full guidance, Shared Parental Leave: A good practice guide for employers and employees, is available here.