Father challenges employer over 'unequal' parental rights

In August 2018, Baz Price learnt he would only be entitled to the basic statutory pay and provisions if he took up Shared Parental Leave after his daughter was born. In comparison, new mothers who work for the council are offered enhanced pay under the Maternity Leave Policy, as are parents who have just adopted.

Mr Price had originally decided he would take Shared Parental Leave, while his wife would go back to work after their daughter was born. However, when he learnt he would not be entitled to enhanced pay, the couple’s plans changed, and the new father says it meant he missed out on spending time with his newborn.

In September 2019, he took the council to an employment tribunal where he challenged his employers with sex discrimination. Mr Price, who represented himself at the hearing, lost the case.

Mr Price and his wife have now decided to appeal the decision, but need to raise £500 to pay for a solicitor and barrister, costing in total £5,000.

He has also launched a petition calling for Powys County Council to make parental leave provision equal for all its employees. The petition has attracted more than 1,500 signatures.

Mr Price told Nursery World, ‘I am the first male employee at the council to request Shared Parental Leave.

‘Because of this, it took the council 13 weeks to tell me that I wouldn’t be eligible for enhanced pay under parental leave.’

He went on to say, ‘When I represented myself at the tribunal, I was completely out of my depth regarding the whole process. In contrast, my employers were represented by a barrister with over 30 years’ experience. Needless to say, I didn’t stand a chance and lost unanimously at the hearing.

‘My wife and I have decided to appeal the decision because we feel it is important to challenge the obvious outdated, discriminative, stereotypical approach to parental provisions and expectations.’

Council response

A spokesperson for Powys County Council said, ‘The council’s policy on parental pay is based upon national statutory requirements, which affect both partners equally.

‘The council’s Shared Parental Leave policy does not discriminate against males as the pay is the same irrespective of gender and it applies equally to females who are not the birth mother.

‘Furthermore, the policy of paying the statutory rate and not an enhanced rate is justified in that it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim of supporting the health and well-being of birth mothers and to ensure they do not feel pressurised to return to work earlier than their health and well-being dictates. The enhanced pay is also a proportionate means of achieving that aim.

‘Mr Price’s specific request for Shared Parental Leave Pay was rejected by the council. The employment tribunal has endorsed and accepted that this rejection does not amount to sex discrimination, either directly or indirectly.

‘In coming to this conclusion, the tribunal followed a recent Court of Appealing decision, which clarified that any disadvantage claimed by the difference in pay was justified as being a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, namely the special treatment of mothers in connection with pregnancy and childbirth.

‘An employer is therefore justified in treating maternity pay and Maternity Leave as a special case, thereby avoiding discrimination claims by men seeking comparable rights.

‘Our policy on shared parental leave should not be amended until such time as the law is changed at a national level.’

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