An investigation by Mumsnet has revealed that only 15 companies listed on the FTSE 250 tell job applicants how much paid leave they’re entitled to if they have children.
The parents’ network checked to see which firms published policies covering maternal and paternal leave. They discovered that businesses were far more concerned with advertising benefits such as massage therapy than they were with including parental leave information on their websites.
Mumsnet is challenging larger firms to take a more transparent approach to parental leave. Their initiative comes in response to recent survey figures highlighting that 66 per cent of parents or people considering parenthood were unable to locate parental leave policy documents before they applied for a job.
A spokesman for The Workers Union, said: ‘We welcome Mumsnet’s findings as they reinforce the conclusions of our own research. We’re also shocked and disappointed that a year on from The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s investigation into pregnancy and discrimination, many of the companies listed on the FTSE 250 have not made their parental leave policies readily accessible. With 54,000 women pushed out of their jobs every 12 months simply for having a child, publishing this information could spark a real revolution in the quality of terms and conditions big business offers potential employees. And with the government considering forcing companies with over 250 employees to publish their parental leave policies, now would be a good time to get ahead of the game and raise the flag for pay equality.’
Are you a parent? Have you experienced ‘back to work’ discrimination? The Workers Union can help. For more information on what we do and how to join us, visit our why join page
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