That I chose to write about the proposed new parental rights with my laptop atop a forty week pregnant belly makes little difference, but may add some context and flavour to this piece for my readers. This is my second child and like many parents I was delighted to hear that there may be a difference to the way parents rights are framed by the government. It is an open secret that parents in the United Kingdom face some very difficult choices in relation to balancing their career and raising their family. This often comes at a substantial cost to one or both parents. These proposed changes may seem like a giant step for business, but to people trying to raise their families at the same time as navigating, what is often a hostile and unsupportive work environment, this is only an edging closer to actively supporting working parents to continue their contribution in all the deserving arenas.
Women inevitably require some post partum recovery time and the increased maternity leave that was brought in by the last government, and from which I benefited, certainly helped. What has not helped most of the mothers I work with and come across is the lack of flexibility in employment, poor part-time working options, significantly reduced pay, and significant childcare costs. Few families can afford a single salary and as a parent you can feel as though your options are severely reduced by the lack of part time opportunities and even varying degrees of employer hostility towards the need to flexible working. Mothers I know have been coerced into working up to their due date and return to work within two weeks, had part-time working proposals accepted in salary terms only, expecting extensive overtime, or have felt forced out by their employer.
Although legislation exists to prevent this kind of employer behaviour, it seems that new or soon to be parents feel they have enough on their plates than to go through the stresses of tribunals and when returning to work, the ‘part-timer’ attitude is so prevalent most people do not challenge it. The high interest cases (banking and legal) point out two things very clearly; 1) that you need to know your rights and 2) that none of these cases are clear cut.
New fathers often face the same challenges in the workplace as their partners. When our first son was born, my husband worked in an office for a renowned organisation that refused him his two weeks paternity leave and frequently forced him into doing overtime. His experience is far from unique. Wanting to spend more time with our child played a large part in his decision to start a business, which requires enormous effort and time, but can be made successful while at the same time being flexible. What fathers face more often is the expectation that they will simply return to work as though little has changed in their lives, they will not seek part time work and their partners will bear the brunt of parental responsibilities. But as the new proposals highlight, somewhat belatedly, is recognition from the government that modern families simply do not function in this way any more.
If the new legislation is passed we might see an emerging society that supports working parents more tangibly, by offering all of us the flexibility that being a parent frequently requires. It is only one of the ways that help can be given, but sometimes just a little help can go a long way. No one expects being a working parent to be easy, but it would be nice if it were not quite as hard.
* This post was scheduled on January 17 2011, so author is now hopefully at home with a healthy baby.
[...] although it is wise to remember that these are subject to changes and legislation as a previous post highlights. How you feel about your new role and how you begin to cope with your new life, [...]