Deirdre Wright: Employers must make their points over leave plans

Employers are likely to let out a collective groan of exasperation over the recently-launched consultation on shared, flexible parental leave and the extension of the right to request flexible working to all employees.

This consultation also includes, rather unexpectedly, proposed changes to the working time regulations - likely to take effect in 2012 - to reflect European case law in relation to sickness and annual leave along with proposals for compulsory pay audits for employers who lose equal pay claims in the employment tribunals.

For most employers in Scotland, a fresh round of employment proposals at a time when new legislation is just bedding in will be about as welcome as an Andy Murray ankle injury in the first round of Wimbledon. At the heart of the UK government plans, due to be implemented in April 2015, are fairly radical reforms to move to more flexible arrangements that allow both parents to share parental leave. The proposals call for the current leave arrangements to be replaced with an 18-week maternity leave scheme. Each parent will then have four weeks' leave and pay reserved for their exclusive use, with the remainder left flexible and divided between them as they see fit. These reforms aim to move us away from the current notions of parenting and family responsibilities that restrict employers and employees alike and extend from 54 to 58 weeks the total amount of paid and unpaid leave available on the birth of a child.

Businesses have until August to put forward any concerns to the UK government, which may be somewhat challenging. How is an employer expected to gauge the potential impact of these 2015 proposals when it's likely they've been unable to assess what effect the new paternity leave legislation, just introduced in April, is having on their business?

Putting this challenge aside, there is much to be welcomed within these proposals. The opening up of the lion's share of the leave to both parents, together with the reservation of a period of leave for the father, represents a clear move away from the existing assumption that the mother will take most of the leave. While in the short to medium term we may not see huge numbers of men taking on major shares of parental leave, this legislation does establish conditions in which a woman's career need not bear the full brunt of a couple's decision to have children.

Under the proposed legislation, parents will have greater choice and flexibility, providing it's workable for their employer. For example, a woman might wish to return to work at the end of her 18-week maternity leave on a part-time basis, using two days a week of parental leave for the first year. This could be beneficial to businesses, which get part-time access to valued employees before the end of the current 52-week maternity leave period. It also means maternity leave could be fitted around quieter periods at work. If flexibility doesn't suit, an employer will still be able to require leave to be taken in a single block.

While much of the pay cost of the proposals is expected to be reclaimed from the UK government, there will be likely costs for employers in administering the scheme. The proposals may also cause additional expense and confusion for employers, who are likely to be faced with appeals, grievances and legal challenges over the decisions they make, and there's the added headache of having to manage the leave of two parents, one of whom is unlikely to be their employee. The greater the input the business community can have during this consultation, the greater the likelihood the legislation will not be overly cumbersome.

While in practice the proposed new arrangements are unlikely to lead to huge changes in employee behaviour when they are implemented in four years time, they do set out the foundations towards greater equality in the workplace. That may mean a short-term challenge for employers but, if the Scandinavian model on which these proposals are fashioned is anything to go by, this could help deliver a better standard of living for us all.

• Deirdre Wright is an associate at law firm Shepherd & Wedderburn.