Maternity Matters Summer 2008

Welcome to Maternity Matters!

There is a definite sense of increasing activity among leading-edge employers in reviewing and enhancing the support provided to parents and parents-to-be in the workforce.

We’ve continued to develop our client work with leading employers in financial & professional services and other sectors such as recruitment and FMCG. You’ll see in this issue how Citi is leading the way in providing integrated support for parents at work.

We are now launching our Managing Maternity 2008 survey, the second annual benchmark into workplace practice on maternity and retention. This is designed to build and share knowledge on how organisations are tackling issues around maternity, flexible working, KIT days and strategies to boost retention. Please take part – it’s straightforward and quick to complete, with a free copy of the final report for all participant organisations.

Also in this issue, as part of our commitment to evidence-based approaches, we bring you a research focus for our Maternity Insights feature in which Managing Maternity Director Anna Hayward holds a Q&A discussion with Shane Crabb on his research into working fatherhood.

Our regular Legal Focus section highlights important changes in maternity rights and benefits that will take effect from October 2008 and we review the current state of play on the Walsh Review of Flexible Working.

I hope you find the information helpful, whatever your role in advancing this field. Do forward the newsletter to colleagues and friends and please get in touch with me with feedback or to find out more about what we can do to help.

Jennifer Liston-Smith
Director, Managing Maternity Ltd

maternity insights

Fathers’ experiences of paternity in an organisational context

For this issue’s feature, we shift the emphasis to paternity with a Q&A discussion between researcher Shane Crabb and Anna Hayward, Director of Managing Maternity. This is based on the paper, Fathers’ experiences of paternity life: Before and after child-birth in an organisational context. S. Crabb & L. Millward Purvis, Surrey University.

Increasingly fathers are expected to adopt child-caring roles within many dual-earning families. Yet, there has been little research into working fatherhood up until now.

Click here to read the full article

legal focus

A Change in Additional Maternity Leave Rights

In this issue we have a summary of important changes in rights during Additional Maternity Leave, contributed by Esther Smith, Partner at Thomas Eggar LLP. More …

Update on the Flexible Working Review

An update on the Walsh Review of Flexible Working by Jennifer Liston-Smith

Keeping in Touch?

How are you using KIT days during maternity leave?
Read a useful update in HRZone