Aviva: more new dads using shared parental leave

Aviva has revealed its male employees have taken an average of 22 weeks’ paternity leave since it introduced an equal parental leave policy in 2017.

This compares with an average of two weeks prior to the policy being brought in.

The insurer said that 1,380 employees had made use of the policy, roughly half of which were dads. 

It added that it had also seen a 23% uptick of new dads taking up equal paternity leave between 2018 and 2019, with an 11% increase in the number of days taken year over year.

Aviva also said that 97% of its new dads had taken more than the statutory two weeks paternity leave, compared with an average of 31 weeks nationally. 

A third of Aviva’s new fathers worked flexibly upon returning to work, it said.

Aviva’s equal parental leave is available to all of its employees and entitles them to up to 12 months leave (six of them fully paid).

Despite the company’s progress on equal paternity leave, women earned an average of 26.7% less than men last year, according to Aviva’s figures.

In terms of gender split by seniority, almost 70% of its senior management were men, while the company’s middle management was 62.8% male, while its customer-facing and support staff were 54.7% female in 2019.

However, the Aviva figures are still above the national average.