Labour Promises Time Off For Grandparents

Grandparents would be able to take unpaid leave to help with childcare under a Labour government, the party has announced.

Currently new mums and dads can take up to 18 weeks of unpaid parental leave, or up to four weeks in a single year until the child is 18.

Under the plans, working grandparents would be able to share the time off work without fear of losing their jobs.

Launching their Women's Manifesto at a nursery in south London, deputy leader Harriet Harman told Sky News it was important for the party to reach out to female voters.

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She said: "All women are different but there are some commons themes. Women still have a disproportionate responsibility for caring for children - also unequal pay is an issue.

"Above all, we need to make sure women understand that politics and democracy is for women as well as men.

"Too often women feel politics is just a group of men shouting at each other, who don't understand their lives.

"More women MPs don't just change the face of parliament, but it changes the agenda too."

More than half of all mothers rely on grandparents for childcare when they first go back to work after maternity leave, while two thirds of those with grandchildren under 16 provide some childcare.

According to research from the Family and Childcare Trust, 1.9 million grandparents have been forced to give up a job, reduce their hours or take time off work in order to look after their grandchildren.

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Neil Carberry of the CBI backed the plan.

He said: "Many grandparents play an important role in helping support working families, so these proposals to consider making existing leave entitlements more flexible will help them to balance that responsibility with their own careers.

"Businesses are looking forward to seeing the details of this policy and making sure it works for both family members and their respective employers."

A record number of women are expected to be elected in May - but just one in four candidates are female, barely up from the 23% of women currently in the House of Commons.