Use of leave

Just as details surrounding the parent’s economic status are important to capture, so

are details surrounding their use of different types of leave while employed. Given

the various types of leave that are available to those in employment, such as

maternity/paternity leave, carer’s leave, career break, flexible working and more, it is

prudent to ask parents about which types of leave they have availed of (if any), as

well as any barriers that prevent them taking leave. Capturing this information helps

to understand the effectiveness of different types of leave schemes and ascertain

what types of supports are necessary to help parents avail of the different types of

leave, as well as any changes in the use of different leave as the child ages between

waves.

The main sub-topics/measures that could be continued from Cohort 24 at age 9

months are (a) an item asking about the parent’s current leave status; (b) an item

asking about returning to work after the birth of the study child; (c) items on the

details of use of various types of leave and on any difficulties in taking leave; (d) an

item on flexible working; and (e) an item asking about childcare as a barrier to

participation for several activities.

It would be preferable to ask these questions of both parents as part of their main

questionnaire.

Recommendations for Cohort 24 at age 3:

•Repeat item on parent’s current leave status from Cohort 24 at age 9 months.

•Repeat items on returning to work after the birth of the study child from Cohort 24 at age 9 months (if primary caregiver had not already returned at the Wave 1 interview).

•Repeat items adapted from the CSO Personal and Work-Life Balance Survey 2021 on details of use of various types of leave, difficulties in taking leave, and flexible working from Cohort 24 at age 9 months.

•Repeat item on childcare as a barrier to participation from Cohort 24 at age 9 months.

Attitudes to work as a parent