Shared parental leave – why it’s not for us
I love my job and have worked really hard to be good at what I do. That’s why I think the new shared parental leave regulations coming in from 5 April 2015 are a step in the right direction for modern families, acknowledging that mums want to pursue careers and don’t have to be the main caregiver.
The rules, which allow parents to split up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of maternity pay, mean mums can return to work sooner while their partner stays at home with their baby. Or they can share the time off together.
In theory, with Tin Box Baby 2 due at the end of April, we are among the families that could take advantage of the new shared parental leave regulations.
However, while I think it’s a great idea and new parents/adopters should seriously consider it, there are a few reasons shared parental leave is not for us:
The money side
Mr TB is the main breadwinner so if he took shared parental leave we would be financially worse off.
It hasn’t always been that way. In fact, before Tin Box Tot arrived I brought home more money than Mr TB. That changed when I was made redundant early on in my first period of maternity leave.
When TBT was nine months old I was offered a great job with a really flexible company that gives me the work-life balance I want. However, the money is less and would not cover our mortgage and other outgoings if Mr TB took part of my parental leave this time round.
I can afford a career break
I didn’t have Tin Box Tot until my early 30s so I had already been working for more than 10 years. In that time I had gained a huge amount of experience in my industry, so I feel that I can afford a few short breaks in my career while I have children.
Other women who are still working their way up the career ladder might want to keep their foot on the accelerator and shared parental leave allows them to do that.
Being at home is my choice
Call me selfish, but I’m quite looking forward to nine months or so off watching our new baby enjoy hundreds of first experiences. Yes, I wish Mr TB could be part of more of them but we can’t have everything.
I know that when I get to the end of my 37 weeks of paid maternity leave I’ll be ready to head back to work and continue with my career. In the meantime, I’ll be enjoying every moment with our new addition to the Tin Box family.
Find out if you are eligible for shared parental leave and what it would mean for you and your partner.
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Note: This post has been written for the Mumsnet shared parental leave linky. Find out what other parent bloggers think.
Wow! I had no idea that you got so little leave in the US – we get a great deal here by comparison! It is so good to have the choice of shared leave now too. People complain about a lot of things here in the UK but have no idea how lucky they really are! X
I think a lot of families will be in the same position as us. I'm going to be interested to see the take up x
Thank you! A forth point I could have added in is that Mr TB is happy for me to get on with it and so am I. Call us traditional, but we're quite happy with the arrangement 🙂
I didn't know they were doing that as of the 5th of April. Wow. Good to have a choice for modern families like you said. In America we are lucky to get three weeks paid and three weeks unpaid then it's back to work or you lose your job. I couldn't believe how much maternity I got in the UK it was like winning the lottery. I love to have the choice of Daddy staying at home and returning to work. Great post. Thanks for linking up to Share With Me. Happy Easter! #sharewithme
Ah I'm in the boat as you with many of the above – I wish is worked for our family but it definitely doesn't 🙁 Mim @ http://www.mamamim.com #sharewithme
My other half is fully aware that if we have another baby, there will be no shared leave here! I wouldn't give up any of those precious nine months for anyone! I still miss being on maternity leave now – two years later haha! Enjoy your mat leave hun 🙂 #sharewithme
It will be interesting to see how many people actually use it. I'm sure there will be plenty of political analysis if the take up is low. Wait for the fall out in six months to a year!
You are so right about the cultural shift – it's a nice gesture but most people are going to stick with the traditional approach to maternity leave.
It's worth looking into, but I think a lot of families will still use parental leave the traditional way. Thanks for popping by x
This was really interesting, I haven't met anyone who will actually use the new rules yet. Like you I feel I've worked hard and deserve my maternity leave and can afford it at this point in my career.
Great post that sets out exactly why not right for you. It will help some but I still think we need law and a huge cultural shift until there is more equality for both mums and dads to have the right mix for them of staying at home and working away.
I hadn't heard much about shared parental leave, what a great idea. It's also great how your given the flexibility to choose if it's right for your family or not xx