New paternity legislation coming into effect on or after 3 April 2011 will enable fathers to take an extended period of time off – provided their partner returns to work.
Fathers will be able to claim up to 6 months of the mother’s maternity leave provided she returns to work, under new additional paternity leave arrangements. The new right is granted to fathers of children due on or after 3 April 2011. The extra leave is in addition to the current two weeks’ paternity leave entitlement. Employers, especially small businesses need to brace themselves for the impact this could have on their productivity. Says Nicola Sales, Managing Director of YourRecruit, “For a large organisation, whilst the loss of a key member of the team for any period of time will have an impact this can sometimes be absorbed by the existing team. For a small business however the loss of a key member of the team can be a real headache, especially if their role is new business development. Employers are going to have to look more closely at the short-term recruitment solutions that are on offer in order to fill that temporary gap.”
