Shared Parental Leave – sex discrimination claim upheld

18th October 2017

A father who was refused enhanced Shared Parental Pay has had his complaint of direct sex discrimination upheld by an Employment Tribunal.

In the case of Ali v Capita Customer Management Ltd, Mr Ali applied for Shared Parental Leave to commence immediately following his 2 weeks ordinary paternity leave. He was however told that he would only receive statutory pay during this period, unlike female employees that are entitled to 14 weeks at the higher enhanced rate of pay.

Mr Ali accepted that the first two weeks after the birth were specifically associated with recovery from childbirth, a condition unique to women. However, he argued that after the first 2 weeks either parent could care for their child and that it was therefore directly discriminatory to deter him from doing so by refusing to grant him enhanced pay.

Having considered the arguments from both parties, the Employment Tribunal upheld Mr Ali’s direct sex discrimination claim.

Please note that this decision is not binding and it is likely that the judgement will be appealed. While clarity is awaited from the Employment Appeal Tribunal, if a request for enhance pay to match maternity pay is received from a male employee, we recommend that schools take advice your Heads HR Consultant before responding.