Civil service employees to benefit from shared parental leave

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has announced that all Civil Service employees will be entitled to full parental pay from April 2015, when they choose to share parental leave. Currently, only mothers are entitled to full pay in this situation.

The changes should enable more fathers to spend time caring for their new-born children and follow an announcement last year in which the government said that from next April parents will have a fully flexible choice over how they split their 52 week parental leave entitlement – with the exception of the first fortnight, which the mother must take.

Announcing the changes, Mr Clegg said: "For me, it's critical that people who choose to work in the public sector know that they're working in modern, progressive workplaces. That is why I think it's also important we do more to support public sector workers balancing their home and work lives.

"To help get that revolution started in the public sector, working with the Cabinet Office, I've been pushing hard for radical reforms to the way in which the Civil Service pays and supports its staff after their children are born.”

Mr Clegg hopes that the changes will "blaze a trail for other public and private sector organisations to follow - making this option the norm for more working families and increasing the opportunities available to both sexes to earn and care across our society."

If you’d like more information about your maternity or paternity rights and leave please contact Ashley Hunt, Carrie-Ann Randall or Vaishali Thakerar at Lawson-West on 0116 212 1000.

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