Tuesday 6 October 2015

Legal right for Grandparents to share parental leave

In the future it could be the case that working grandparents will be able to share parental leave.

The Chancellor has announced the planned changes - which are aiming to be implemented by 2018 - and he is hoping they will increase flexibility and give choice to families.

Evidence suggests:
- Up to 2 million grandparents have either given up work or reduced their hours to help families who cannot afford childcare costs
- Around 7 million grandparents are involved in childcare
- Grandparents may be contributing as much as £8 billion each year to help bridge the childcare gap
- More than half of mothers rely on grandparents for childcare when they first go back after maternity leave

The government will consult on the details in the first half of 2016 and whatever the outcome, I hope the planned changes will only help to support family units so that the best choice of structure can be chosen by those families who work.

To read the full government report click here.

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