New legislation is changing how paternity leave is taken, allowing fathers or partners to divide their paid leave into blocks. These changes will come into force on 8 March and will apply to children whose expected week of birth begins after 6 April. With 65 per cent of the manufacturing workforce male, and male workers representing 83 per cent of the logistics profession, this is likely to have a disproportionate impact on distribution, logistics and manufacturing firms.
Fathers will now have more options for when they take their leave and can provide shorter notice. Though fantastic for workplace flexibility and morale, this means operations and people managers must be prepared, ready to fill the gaps and ensure production is not affected.
What do the changes entail?
According to the previous rules, fathers and partners could take one or two consecutive weeks of paid leave within the first eight weeks after the birth or adoption of a child. If both weeks were chosen, they must be taken at the same time, equalling a full fortnight of leave.
The new rules keep the leave to two weeks, but they can now be taken in separate one-week blocks if preferred. You can also take the leave at any point during the first year after the birth or adoption. Workers must notify the employer of how much of the full two weeks they wish to take 15 weeks before the due date. However, the notice given for when exactly the leave will be taken has been reduced. Employees must tell their employer only four weeks before.
These changes will be enacted at the same time as the Carer’s Leave Act, where any employees with a dependent needing long-term care have a statutory right to one week’s unpaid care leave each year.
How can firms adapt?
Firstly, leaders must communicate and promote leave-taking according to the new rules. Managers should be trained in the new legislation and update policies. A strong Payroll solution will help, incorporating legislation changes in a software update and facilitating the new leave structure.
However, leaders must then be prepared for leave to be requested at the new shorter notice, and the necessary speedy alterations to rostering and working schedule that this requires. In manufacturing, distribution and logistics, a week or two weeks off has the potential to leave a disastrous gap in operations, especially in busier periods. Leaders must proactively plan to ensure this leave at shorter notice does not result in delayed delivery times or dissatisfied customers.
Allow the fathers to make the requests themselves through a cloud-based time and attendance software solution, accessible by all, to speed up the process. A strong system also allows other employees to advertise their availability, meaning gaps left by paternity leave can be filled seamlessly with willing workers. Using an auto-rostering tool ensures that leaders can create new schedules quickly and easily, spinning up new rotas based on who is available and adequately skilled to fill the specific gap left by the new dad.
In the longer term, software that captures paternity leave data can even be used to analyse common trends, of when the time is most likely to be taken and how this interacts with demand. This will allow leaders to make decisions regarding temporary workers, mitigating disruption in advance.
How can Advanced’s software as a service help?
Advanced’s Payroll solution will incorporate the statutory paternity pay changes into its software in a late February release, to be in place well before they come into action. This can be integrated with HR, allowing employees to easily request their paternity leave, with managers able to view and make updates in real-time.
Time and Attendance software can also help through its auto-rostering function. This means leaders can devise new schedules quicky and apply appropriate restraints to cater to complex requirements, meaning that the right person will be assigned to the shifts left vacant. Strong analytical and reporting features ensure that leave can be effectively communicated to the rest of the team and data can be analysed to see if any trends emerge relating to when fathers want to take leave.
Can you go further?
It is worth noting that the UK has the least generous paternity rights in Europe. Employers can offer only the statutory minimum legal pay for paternity leave – 90 per cent of salary or £172.8 a week, whichever is lower. However, leaders could consider supplementing paternity pay as an act of goodwill, expressing a support for male partners in parenting. In industries faced with a skills shortage, workers that feel valued and cared for will be more likely to stay and progressive policy is more likely to attract new talent. Go above and beyond in your paternity leave pay policy to stand out as a business that puts people first.
A proactive approach and strong people management software will help businesses adapt to the new changes to statutory paternity pay. They can even present an opportunity to honour the fathers in your workforce, embracing greater flexibility in working patterns.
