Maternity leave changes 'will help retain staff'
Under new government plans, families are to be granted more flexibility with maternity and paternity leave.
The plans, which will come into effect in April next year, will see workers having the option of transferring up to six months leave to the father should they want to, which can be taken once the mother has returned to work.
It is a move which has been welcomed by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), although it has received a mixed response from business leaders who have questioned management skills.
The CMI believes that the plans will help improve staff retention and help workers manage their work life balance more efficiently.
Ruth Spellman, chief executive of the CMI, said the changes "should be seen by businesses as an opportunity to introduce or improve flexible working practices in order to retain the organisation's top talent".
She went on to say that allowing more flexible leave would "have a significant impact on employee motivation, engagement, productivity and overall performance".
A survey by Workingmums.com published last week (September 17th) shows that flexible working is extremely important to female employees.
How does your company deal with maternity leave?
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I wonder if major private institutions would consider this eg City etc?
Seems to make sense, although I'm still not really sure on the whole maternity leave thing. For small businesses losing a key individual for that long whilst still having to pay them can put a real strain both operationally and financially. Certainly makes for a difficult situation.
There are certainly pros and cons to the suggestion. It will definitely help to relieve some stress off the mother, and she will get the support that she needs from her husband after giving birth. In addition, the father will get to connect more with his new-born child.