
From the editor: Lockdown is tough for working dads
First came the articles claiming the third Monday in January is the most miserable day of...read more
Jessica Chivers is trying to get signatories for a petition that would mean dads also have to inform their employers when they are about to start a family. That would trigger much-needed conversations about parental leave, she says.
“They’re just hasn’t been the take-up we thought there would be,” is what I hear most often when I ask clients and HR practitioners about Shared Parental Leave.
What if employers invited expectant fathers to tell them they are expecting a baby? How might this affect the take-up of Shared Parental Leave? “A voluntary ‘DADB1’ form alongside the ‘MATB1’ form women are given by the NHS to pass to their employers?” I quipped in a LinkedIn article If employers REALLY want more men to take SPL, here’s how in March 2017.
Eighteen months later and we’re calling upon the Government to introduce a “DADB1” form alongside the “MATB1” form pregnant women are issued by their midwife to verify their pregnancy. The DADB1 form is for expectant fathers to hand to their employer to kickstart discussions about, and preparation for, Shared Parental Leave. The DADB1 form is a simple, pragmatic step towards growing the number of men taking SPL by kickstarting early conversations between expectant fathers and their employers.
Read and sign the petition – your support counts. We need 10,000 supporters.