Key findings
policy for those on maternity leave. While this is to be commended,
it is sometimes not carried through in practice. Women need to be
encouraged to maintain connections with the working environment,
and equally line managers and HR staff need to stay in touch with
staff. A buddy-type or mentoring/coaching system is useful in this
regard and we note that these initiatives are beginning to develop
in the Agencies. ‘Keeping in Touch’ days take place and should be
occurring regularly. One new initiative was the first Maternity, Paternity
and Adoption (MPA) event which MI5 hosted in April 2014, at which
25 staff currently on MPA leave were offered advice on MPA-related
issues.
“I am a manager of a small team working on operations. When I
fell pregnant, I arranged that I would take six months’ maternity
leave and return to the same post. The information available from
HR on the process was reasonably detailed and I benefited from
a Wiki page that previous maternity leavers had set up which was
full of useful information. I received confirmation from HR about my
maternity leave but no other contact. My line manager was pleased
for me and supportive. However, getting performance management
cover for my team proved difficult and was a source of stress.
During the leave, I had a phone call from HR at the mid-way point
but no other contact from work, managers or colleagues. After
contacting my work area myself, my line manager came to visit me.
I decided to take an extra month of leave on statutory maternity pay
and this was organised reasonably easily. I visited the office twice for
short ‘Keeping in Touch’ days.”
Working mother at GCHQ
“Continuous
engagement before
and during maternity
leave is vital.”
33. One aspect of ‘Keeping in Touch’ that staff have raised with us
has been the limitations that the need for security places on access
to premises. We were told that at least one Agency removes security
passes from its staff when they go on maternity leave. While this is not
an impossible obstacle to overcome, it does deter engagement and
should be re-examined. We note that the 2013 study on the CIA also
found that security and IT checkout procedures severed important
connections with those individuals.12
34. Returning to work. One of the key issues is what happens to
women when they want to return to work. Many women wish to
return after maternity leave, but are faced with some stark choices.
Some of those who attended our meetings felt strongly that the
organisation wanted women to return to corporate roles, such
as HR, on the basis that they would want part-time and UK-based
employment and could not therefore fill a frontline operational role.
We have been told by MI5 and SIS that they have now adopted clear
policies that women can return to their previous roles. However,
whilst senior management regard this as explicit and well-advertised,
12 ‘Women in Leadership’, CIA Director’s Advisory Group.
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