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Meet the family<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rhiannon and\nChris O\u2019Connor are in a unique position. They both do the exact same job as\neach other (Clinical Fellows at Newcastle Dental School) in the same university\nthey met and trained in aged 18. You\nmight ask what such a couple could possibly talk about over mealtimes? The\nanswer, for the last few years (since they had kids), has generally been who is\nmore tired and who is going to have to do the next early morning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their first\ndaughter, Isla, was born in March 2015 a few weeks before the government would\nchange the family dynamic forever. In April 2015 \u2018shared parental leave\u2019 was introduced\nand families were now able to share the twelve months of leave previously\nreserved for the mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luckily for\nthe readers of this blog, in July 2018, Rhiannon and Chris welcomed to the\nworld their second daughter, Megan, and decided to share some of their\nallocated leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why are you sharing your leave?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Google tells\nus that only one to two percent of parents currently utilise shared parental leave\nbut for the O\u2019Connor family it was a great opportunity. Rhiannon had some\npressing PhD deadlines that she wanted to meet to be eligible for job\nopportunities. Chris wanted to experience being the primary carer for a while\nand take the opportunity to spend more time with his children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How can you split it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In line with\nGovernment policy, the University requires mothers to take a period of two\nweeks maternity leave after childbirth. \nFollowing this, parents can divide a remaining period of 50 weeks leave between\nthemselves. This can be structured in\nvarious ways, provided line managers agree, so parents can take periods of\nleave together or can take their leave separately. In addition to this, the\nfather is also entitled to two weeks paternity leave within eight weeks of the\nbirth of the baby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Knowing that\nthe first few weeks with the new baby would be the hardest, Chris took two weeks\nparental leave immediately after his paternity leave finished. Rhiannon took\nthe first nine months of parental leave immediately and Chris took the final three\nmonths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is it paid?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Payment for\nparental leave can vary, depending on conditions of employment and length of\nservice. The O\u2019Connors received full pay\nfor the two weeks paternity, two weeks maternity and first 16 weeks of shared leave. The subsequent 21 weeks of shared leave were\npaid at a lower rate and the final 13 weeks unpaid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Was it easy to arrange this leave?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes. The Newcastle University\u2019s shared leave policies\nare easily accessible on their website. \nOnce we had worked out what we could apply for, it was a case of a\ncouple of meetings with line managers and then a bit of form filling. Managers were really supportive and we were\ngranted what we initially requested with no problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Would you recommend others consider\napplying for Shared Parental Leave?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Absolutely! The opportunity worked really well for us,\nenabling us to balance work commitments better and both benefit from some\nquality time with our children. It also\nhelped us both appreciate the different demands of being \u2018stay at home\u2019 and \u2018working\u2019\nparents, which made us more supportive of each other in these roles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rhiannon and\nChris are now very much back at work and are still permanently exhausted!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meet the family Rhiannon and Chris O\u2019Connor are in a unique position. They both do the exact same job as each other (Clinical Fellows at Newcastle Dental School) in the same university they met and trained in aged 18. You might ask what such a couple could possibly talk about over mealtimes? The answer, for … <\/p>\n