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divdiv class=story-body readability=34 span class=story-date#13; span class=date28 November 2013/span#13;span class=time-textLast updated at /spanspan class=time21:04 ET/span#13; #13;/span#13;#13; #13;#13;#13; #13; #13; #13; #13; p class=introduction id=story_continues_1The government has committed to introducing a year of shared leave for new parents by April 2015./p#13; pDeputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the rights would allow men to become more hands-on fathers and stop women feeling they have to choose between a career or a baby./p#13; pThere should not be a one-size-fits-all approach, he added./p#13; pBut the Institute of Directors described the new rights as a nightmare for employers./p#13; pUnder the changes, the existing 52 weeks of maternity leave, other than the first fortnight for a new mother's recovery, will be shared between the parents./p#13; pBut, in an effort to allay fears of the impact on smaller firms, bosses will have to agree any proposed pattern of time off and will retain the right to insist it be confined to a continuous block, with no more than two subsequent changes./p#13; span class=cross-head'Under pressure'/span#13; pAnyone taking total leave of six months or less over the period will be legally entitled to return to the same job./p#13; pMr Clegg said: Women deserve the right to pursue their goals and not feel they have to choose between having a successful career or having a baby./p#13; pThey should be supported by their employers, rather than being made to feel less employable or under pressure to take unchallenging jobs./p#13; pIt is already illegal to sack a woman because she is pregnant, or on maternity leave, but we want to go further than that. We want to create a fairer society that gives parents the flexibility to choose how they share care for their child in the first year after birth./p#13; pWe need to challenge the old-fashioned assumption that women will always be the parent that stays at home, many fathers want that option too./p#13; pMr Clegg added: There shouldn't be a one-size-fits-all approach; that's not how families are set up. Many businesses already recognise how productive and motivated employees are when they're given the opportunity to work flexibly, helping them retain talent and boost their competitive edge./p#13; pThis is good for families, good for business and good for our economy./p#13; pBut the Institute of Directors said the plan was a nightmare that would heap yet more burdens on struggling employers./p#13; pDeputy director of policy Alexander Ehmann said: The proposed system is considerably more complex and unwieldy than the current laws and employers will - once again - have to absorb the cost of adapting and implementing this new system./p#13; pFor Labour, shadow minister for women and equalities Gloria De Piero said: Nick Clegg claims to be on parents' side but he and David Cameron have done nothing to support families in the last three years./p#13; pShe added: This reheated announcement contains nothing new for families suffering from this government's cost-of-living crisis./p#13; pTUC general secretary Frances O'Grady added: Shared parental leave is a welcome new step that should encourage more fathers to get involved in childcare from the very beginning./p#13; pBut unless it is backed up with better pay, many couples simply won't be able to afford to take it./p#13; div class=comment-introduction readability=-49#13; p class=introductionAre you planning to have children in the near future? Are you an expectant father? Are you an employer? Send us your comments using the form below./p#13; #13;/div#13; #13; #13; #13; #13; /div/divbrbrcentera href=http://www.wizardrss.comPowered By WizardRSS.com/a | a href=http://www.wizardrss.comFull Text RSS Feed/a | a href=http://www.amazon.com/RFID-Blocking-Cards-Identity-Protector/dp/B00CJHZLEWRFID/a | a href=http://www.wpzonbuilder.comAmazon Affiliate/a/center