International Journal of Law and Society

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An Analysis of Shared Parental Leave Policies in UK Universities

Received: 15 December 2022    Accepted: 03 January 2023    Published: 13 January 2023
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Abstract

The paper examines the content, pay package, and uptake of shared parental leave within 66 UK universities. The study aimed to consider whether the nature of the policy and the pay impacted the effectiveness of shared parental leave. Data for the study was obtained by analysing the shared parental leave policies of 66 universities in the UK whose policies were publicly accessible through the university websites. Freedom of Information requests was made to 125 universities listed on The UniGuide 2020 to obtain data on the take-up of shared parental leave in UK universities. Out of the 125 universities, 80 responded to the freedom of information with data on shared parental leave take-up from 2016-2021. Findings demonstrate a mixed picture of the level of details universities tend to include in their policy document. While some universities provided detailed information with examples to support staff, others provided as little as a line directing staff to the government website on shared parental leave policy. While most universities enhance maternity and paternity leave, not all universities extended the pay generosity to shared parental leave. This is seen as a disincentive to parents to take shared parental leave given that shared parental leave is not an addition to maternity leave for the mother. The findings supports the stereotypical gendered norms in which most workplaces are modelled. There was no identifiable trend within a particular group of universities regarding the length of the policy document or material included in the policy. However, there was an identifiable trend regarding shared parental leave take-up. The top 10 universities with the highest take up of shared parental leave were mostly Russell Group universities which could also be described as research-active institutions. This study concludes that gendered inequality in the workplace and motherhood penalty are why most universities are not proactive in supporting shared parental leave policy.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijls.20230601.17
Published in International Journal of Law and Society (Volume 6, Issue 1, March 2023)
Page(s) 46-53
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Shared Parental Leave, Higher Education Institutions, Family Friendly Rights

References
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Author Information
  • York Business School, York St John University, York, UK

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  • APA Style

    Ernestine Gheyoh Ndzi. (2023). An Analysis of Shared Parental Leave Policies in UK Universities. International Journal of Law and Society, 6(1), 46-53. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20230601.17

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    Ernestine Gheyoh Ndzi. An Analysis of Shared Parental Leave Policies in UK Universities. Int. J. Law Soc. 2023, 6(1), 46-53. doi: 10.11648/j.ijls.20230601.17

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    AMA Style

    Ernestine Gheyoh Ndzi. An Analysis of Shared Parental Leave Policies in UK Universities. Int J Law Soc. 2023;6(1):46-53. doi: 10.11648/j.ijls.20230601.17

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijls.20230601.17,
      author = {Ernestine Gheyoh Ndzi},
      title = {An Analysis of Shared Parental Leave Policies in UK Universities},
      journal = {International Journal of Law and Society},
      volume = {6},
      number = {1},
      pages = {46-53},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijls.20230601.17},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20230601.17},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijls.20230601.17},
      abstract = {The paper examines the content, pay package, and uptake of shared parental leave within 66 UK universities. The study aimed to consider whether the nature of the policy and the pay impacted the effectiveness of shared parental leave. Data for the study was obtained by analysing the shared parental leave policies of 66 universities in the UK whose policies were publicly accessible through the university websites. Freedom of Information requests was made to 125 universities listed on The UniGuide 2020 to obtain data on the take-up of shared parental leave in UK universities. Out of the 125 universities, 80 responded to the freedom of information with data on shared parental leave take-up from 2016-2021. Findings demonstrate a mixed picture of the level of details universities tend to include in their policy document. While some universities provided detailed information with examples to support staff, others provided as little as a line directing staff to the government website on shared parental leave policy. While most universities enhance maternity and paternity leave, not all universities extended the pay generosity to shared parental leave. This is seen as a disincentive to parents to take shared parental leave given that shared parental leave is not an addition to maternity leave for the mother. The findings supports the stereotypical gendered norms in which most workplaces are modelled. There was no identifiable trend within a particular group of universities regarding the length of the policy document or material included in the policy. However, there was an identifiable trend regarding shared parental leave take-up. The top 10 universities with the highest take up of shared parental leave were mostly Russell Group universities which could also be described as research-active institutions. This study concludes that gendered inequality in the workplace and motherhood penalty are why most universities are not proactive in supporting shared parental leave policy.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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    AB  - The paper examines the content, pay package, and uptake of shared parental leave within 66 UK universities. The study aimed to consider whether the nature of the policy and the pay impacted the effectiveness of shared parental leave. Data for the study was obtained by analysing the shared parental leave policies of 66 universities in the UK whose policies were publicly accessible through the university websites. Freedom of Information requests was made to 125 universities listed on The UniGuide 2020 to obtain data on the take-up of shared parental leave in UK universities. Out of the 125 universities, 80 responded to the freedom of information with data on shared parental leave take-up from 2016-2021. Findings demonstrate a mixed picture of the level of details universities tend to include in their policy document. While some universities provided detailed information with examples to support staff, others provided as little as a line directing staff to the government website on shared parental leave policy. While most universities enhance maternity and paternity leave, not all universities extended the pay generosity to shared parental leave. This is seen as a disincentive to parents to take shared parental leave given that shared parental leave is not an addition to maternity leave for the mother. The findings supports the stereotypical gendered norms in which most workplaces are modelled. There was no identifiable trend within a particular group of universities regarding the length of the policy document or material included in the policy. However, there was an identifiable trend regarding shared parental leave take-up. The top 10 universities with the highest take up of shared parental leave were mostly Russell Group universities which could also be described as research-active institutions. This study concludes that gendered inequality in the workplace and motherhood penalty are why most universities are not proactive in supporting shared parental leave policy.
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