Do you have to enhance shared parental pay? That’s the question on the lips of every HR professional across the country following the case of Hextall vs Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police. The case has raised serious questions around enhanced maternity pay, and shared parental pay.
Mr Hextall is a police officer working for the Leicestershire Police Force, after welcoming his child in to the world, he sought to take some time off to care of his child. His employer had a policy in place whereby female employees taking maternity leave would receive enhanced pay, whereas those wishing to take shared parental leave receive a statutory payment.
For Mr Hextall, his only option was to take shared parental leave and he would therefore only receive the statutory payment. Mr Hextall felt that this was unfair, and that he had been treated less favourably than female employees. He tried to resolve this dispute internally without success, and so brought his claims within the employment tribunal, alleging that his employer’s behaviour amounted to indirect sex discrimination, direct sex discrimination and breach of equal pay laws.
