Justine Roberts is the founder and CEO of Mumsnet.
When I started Mumsnet, I wanted to run a business that recognised that, for most parents, family comes first, and work second. In recent years, as the pandemic forced us to adopt different ways of working, we’ve seen more and more businesses embrace this idea – or at the least, tolerate it.
But there remains one baffling practice amongst employers that makes absolutely no sense – and that’s the practice of keeping maternity and paternity leave policies a closely guarded secret from potential employees.
Currently, there’s no obligation for companies to be open about the parental leave they give to their employees and fewer than half of the FTSE100 publish their policies. This means if you’re a woman who is thinking about having children, and you’re looking for a job, you have a choice. You can ask about parental leave policies at the application stage, and risk being discriminated against in the process. One Mumsnet survey found that more than 70 per cent of employers and recruiters agree that employers and recruiters in general discriminate against pregnant women. Or, you can devote your time and energy to applying for a job that may not fit in with your future plans.
Given the significance of this information, it is incomprehensible that some companies refuse to share it proactively – even as they boast about free fruit or pet-friendly policies. That’s why Mumsnet is calling on the Government to act, and make it mandatory for large companies to publish their parental leave policies – and in the meantime, we’re encouraging employers to publish this information voluntarily.
Obliging employers to publish their policies would be a powerful incentive for them to improve the quality of their offer, allay any fears that prospective parents have about being discriminated against, and help companies to attract employees. Last year, research by Vodafone found that more than a third (37 per cent) of people, and more than half (55 per cent) of 18–34-year-olds, would be more likely to apply for a job if they knew the employer had good parental leave policies. And we know that in the absence of transparency, potential employees make negative assumptions. As one Mumsnet user wrote: “I’d always assume (perhaps wrongly) that a company hesitant to share this offered the bare minimum”.
As founder and CEO of a thriving SME, I’m acutely aware of concerns around placing further regulatory burdens on businesses. But the Government’s own analysis has found that the majority of organisations find complying with gender pay gap reporting rules straightforward. The process of publishing parental leave would be as – if not more – easy as that process. Most companies will already have a section on their website for sharing information about benefits – it would simply be a case of ensuring this information is included.
We saw welcome progress from this Government back in 2019, when Ministers consulted on the idea of making the publication of parental leave mandatory. The idea was supported by the vast majority of respondents to the consultation, and the government promised to consider it as part of their review of the impact of the Gender Pay Gap Reporting Regulations. But this review has come and gone and while it acknowledged that half of employers are not taking any action to reduce their gender pay gap, it has failed to propose any action to remedy this.
Until relatively recently, everything was predicated on the idea that one parent (dad) would go out to work and one parent (mum) would stay at home with the baby. And although things have changed – and frankly most families can’t survive on one salary these days – in many ways women and families are still forced to work within the confines of a system that refuses to recognise the reality of their lives.
This Government has taken two laudable steps to start to remedy this, with their planned expansion of childcare support and legislative change to make it easier for employees to request flexible working – measures that will support those people who are already parents. By also taking the simple step of obliging companies to publish their parental leave policies, they will allow those considering parenthood to plan for their personal future in the context of their working life.
Publishing parental leave is a small, cost-free change for businesses that encourages a race to the top for employers, helps tackle the gender pay gap and allows potential employees to make informed decisions. It also gives this Government a chance to show that they understand the dynamics of modern working families and the challenges they face, and that they want to make their lives easier. They should seize this opportunity.
Justine Roberts is the founder and CEO of Mumsnet.
When I started Mumsnet, I wanted to run a business that recognised that, for most parents, family comes first, and work second. In recent years, as the pandemic forced us to adopt different ways of working, we’ve seen more and more businesses embrace this idea – or at the least, tolerate it.
But there remains one baffling practice amongst employers that makes absolutely no sense – and that’s the practice of keeping maternity and paternity leave policies a closely guarded secret from potential employees.
Currently, there’s no obligation for companies to be open about the parental leave they give to their employees and fewer than half of the FTSE100 publish their policies. This means if you’re a woman who is thinking about having children, and you’re looking for a job, you have a choice. You can ask about parental leave policies at the application stage, and risk being discriminated against in the process. One Mumsnet survey found that more than 70 per cent of employers and recruiters agree that employers and recruiters in general discriminate against pregnant women. Or, you can devote your time and energy to applying for a job that may not fit in with your future plans.
Given the significance of this information, it is incomprehensible that some companies refuse to share it proactively – even as they boast about free fruit or pet-friendly policies. That’s why Mumsnet is calling on the Government to act, and make it mandatory for large companies to publish their parental leave policies – and in the meantime, we’re encouraging employers to publish this information voluntarily.
Obliging employers to publish their policies would be a powerful incentive for them to improve the quality of their offer, allay any fears that prospective parents have about being discriminated against, and help companies to attract employees. Last year, research by Vodafone found that more than a third (37 per cent) of people, and more than half (55 per cent) of 18–34-year-olds, would be more likely to apply for a job if they knew the employer had good parental leave policies. And we know that in the absence of transparency, potential employees make negative assumptions. As one Mumsnet user wrote: “I’d always assume (perhaps wrongly) that a company hesitant to share this offered the bare minimum”.
As founder and CEO of a thriving SME, I’m acutely aware of concerns around placing further regulatory burdens on businesses. But the Government’s own analysis has found that the majority of organisations find complying with gender pay gap reporting rules straightforward. The process of publishing parental leave would be as – if not more – easy as that process. Most companies will already have a section on their website for sharing information about benefits – it would simply be a case of ensuring this information is included.
We saw welcome progress from this Government back in 2019, when Ministers consulted on the idea of making the publication of parental leave mandatory. The idea was supported by the vast majority of respondents to the consultation, and the government promised to consider it as part of their review of the impact of the Gender Pay Gap Reporting Regulations. But this review has come and gone and while it acknowledged that half of employers are not taking any action to reduce their gender pay gap, it has failed to propose any action to remedy this.
Until relatively recently, everything was predicated on the idea that one parent (dad) would go out to work and one parent (mum) would stay at home with the baby. And although things have changed – and frankly most families can’t survive on one salary these days – in many ways women and families are still forced to work within the confines of a system that refuses to recognise the reality of their lives.
This Government has taken two laudable steps to start to remedy this, with their planned expansion of childcare support and legislative change to make it easier for employees to request flexible working – measures that will support those people who are already parents. By also taking the simple step of obliging companies to publish their parental leave policies, they will allow those considering parenthood to plan for their personal future in the context of their working life.
Publishing parental leave is a small, cost-free change for businesses that encourages a race to the top for employers, helps tackle the gender pay gap and allows potential employees to make informed decisions. It also gives this Government a chance to show that they understand the dynamics of modern working families and the challenges they face, and that they want to make their lives easier. They should seize this opportunity.