Archivo de Noticias

Infórmate con las últimas noticias de actualidad

BUSINESSES TAKE A FRESH LOOK AT MATERNITY

04/01/2007

According to ICAS, one of the world’s leading employee assistance and well-being providers, many businesses are in danger of failing to manage the maternity leave of their skilled workforce effectively, resulting in significant loss of skills and expertise held by women and potential employment law issues. [1]

With increased maternity and paternity leave coming into force as a result of The Work and Families Act 2006, more businesses are starting to look at how they manage maternity to ensure business continuity and the best use of female talent, whilst minimising hefty recruitment costs.

ICAS has launched a new partnership with Managing Maternity Ltd, to work with organisations to ensure mothers are well supported and able to make a smoother transition back into work, creating a win-win situation for both businesses and new parents.

Stephen Galliano, Chief Executive of ICAS said: “We have been receiving more and more enquiries from employers about the potential impact on their business of The Work and Families Act 2006 and the further changes to come. We want to reassure them that help is at hand. Employers who plan maternity leave well with their employees, offering them timely support, develop a more loyal work force and gain a reputation as an employer of choice.”

The new partnership provides consultancy, training and support for organisations and managers on managing maternity effectively. It also provides a programme of support for new mothers. Services are delivered by a team of skilled coaches and trainers, who are all professional working mothers. Employers do not need to have an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) with ICAS to take advantage of the new managing maternity services, although the combination of an ICAS EAP and tailored support is a powerful one.

Anna Hayward, Director at Managing Maternity Ltd said: “There is a greater understanding among employers about the issues women face at this time of transition, recognising that supporting women makes good business sense. In our experience the treatment women receive during pregnancy affects their likelihood of returning to work. We believe it is possible to combine maternity, work and parenthood successfully and it takes new skills and thinking to do so.”

The partnership between ICAS and Managing Maternity Ltd offers independent, professional expertise that can be a huge help to a manager concerned about acting in the best interests of both staff and the business. Services include developing guidelines for managers to encourage a successful, consistent approach to maternity management across the organisation, workshops focusing on legal and communication issues and the facilitation of pre-maternity leave reviews between managers and their staff.

The package of support for employees includes workshops and lunchtime briefings for mothers-to-be to help them form strategies for combining work and parenthood. There are also seminars geared towards dads to help them take time to think about the choices they make as a parent and to prepare them for the first few months.

Notes to Editors

For more information or to arrange interviews please contact Gail Buckle or Carole Scott at BOTTLE PR on 01865 882988. gailbuckle@bottlepr.co.uk or carolescott@bottlepr.co.uk

---

• Última noticia

• Archivo de noticias