The Perinatal Workplace Consultancy · Free Self-Audit

Looks Good On Paper

Twenty-five honest questions about what actually happens in your organisation, not what the policy says

Most organisations have a parental leave policy that reads perfectly well. Very few could tell you what actually happens to the person who discloses a pregnancy on a Tuesday afternoon: whether the risk assessment gets done, whether pregnancy-related absence is handled appropriately, or whether they are kept informed about a restructure while they are on leave.

The gap between the two is where good employers lose good people. This self-audit takes about 10 minutes to complete and is designed to help you identify where those gaps may sit. Answer as honestly as you can. The value comes from reflecting on what happens in practice, not what should happen on paper.

How to use it

Twenty-five questions across six areas. Tick each statement only where it reflects what happens consistently in practice today, rather than what is written in policy or intended. If the experience would depend on the individual manager, leave it unticked.

Once complete, select Show my result to see your score band. Seven questions are marked critical. A gap in any of these areas should be prioritised, regardless of your overall score.

01.

Policy foundations

Whether the written position is complete and current.
Our parental policies were reviewed within the last 12 months and carry a version date.Family leave law is changing through 2027. Clear review and version dates help ensure policies remain current and accurate.
We have clear written provision for pregnancy loss before 24 weeks, including support for partners.Critical. Statutory bereavement leave for pregnancy loss before 24 weeks is not yet in force in Great Britain. The Employment Rights Act 2025 creates a new day-one right, with implementation scheduled for 2027.
We have clear written guidance or provision for employees undergoing fertility treatment.There is no statutory right to paid time off for IVF appointments. Pregnancy-specific protection applies from the embryo-transfer stage, so clear organisational support before and during treatment remains important.
Our policies name partners, adopters, surrogacy and same-sex parents explicitly.Inclusive policies make it clear that different routes to parenthood and different family structures are recognised and supported.
We have clear written provision for neonatal care leave and pay, and managers know it exists.Critical. Statutory neonatal care leave applies where a baby is admitted to neonatal care within 28 days of birth and stays for at least seven full and consecutive days. It gives up to 12 weeks, taken on top of maternity, paternity or adoption leave, and there is no minimum service requirement for the leave itself. Neonatal care pay is different and needs 26 weeks’ continuous service. Many organisations have no written provision at all, so managers improvise at the worst possible moment.
02.

Psychological safety and culture

Whether people can actually tell you what is happening to them.
People feel safe and supported to disclose a pregnancy when they choose to do so.Patterns of later disclosure may indicate that employees are uncertain about how pregnancy will be received or supported within the organisation.
Someone could tell their manager about a miscarriage and feel confident they would be met with sensitivity and support.Disclosure after pregnancy or baby loss is highly personal. A sensitive first response can shape whether someone feels safe to ask for the support they need.
Requests for flexibility are considered consistently, regardless of whether they come from mothers, fathers or partners.Consider whether assumptions about caregiving or commitment influence how different employees’ requests are received.
Employees are not expected to repeatedly explain sensitive personal or medical circumstances in order to access support.Clear communication and appropriate handovers can reduce unnecessary repetition while respecting confidentiality and choice.
03.

Manager capability

Where the experience is actually made or lost.
Managers have access to practical training or guidance that helps them handle these conversations with confidence, not simply a policy to refer to.Critical. Policies set out the framework, but managers also need practical guidance on how to respond well in the moment.
Managers know where to find the right guidance and support when a perinatal situation arises.Support is more consistent when managers can access clear guidance without relying entirely on individual HR knowledge.
Managers understand how pregnancy-related absence should be treated within absence management processes.Critical. Pregnancy-related absence must be recorded separately and must not count towards absence triggers, warnings or dismissal decisions at any point from the start of pregnancy to the end of maternity leave. That specific protection ends when maternity leave ends. After that, absence is managed normally, but where the underlying condition amounts to a disability, reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act apply instead. Getting either half of this wrong creates legal risk and real distress.
When someone's manager changes during leave, there is a clear and thoughtful handover to support continuity.Changes in manager can disrupt communication, expectations and the return-to-work experience if the transition is not actively managed.
04.

Flexibility, workload and job design

Whether flexible working is supported by realistic workload and job design.
When someone reduces their hours, their workload is formally reduced too.Critical. Reduced hours should be matched by a realistic reduction in workload so flexibility is sustainable in practice.
Statutory flexible working requests are handled within two months, including any appeal, unless an extension is agreed.Employees have a day-one right to request flexible working. Employers must discuss a request before refusing it, and any refusal should be confirmed in writing with the business reasons.
Cover arrangements are genuinely temporary; work returns to the person who left.Clear cover and handover arrangements help protect role continuity and reduce the risk of returning employees being disadvantaged.
We offer a phased return, and it is paid.A supported phased return can help employees rebuild confidence, adjust to new routines and return sustainably.
05.

Career equity

Whether leave and flexible working affect access to progression and opportunity.
Before leave begins, we agree how and when the employee would like to be kept informed about relevant opportunities and organisational changes.Agreeing contact preferences in advance helps managers respect individual wishes while ensuring employees are not unintentionally excluded from information that may affect their role or career.
Our restructure process includes a check for anyone who may have additional pregnancy or maternity protections.Critical. Employees have priority for suitable alternative vacancies in a redundancy situation from the day they tell you they are pregnant until 18 months after the birth. The same 18 month window applies to adoption leave and to shared parental leave of six continuous weeks or more. It does not apply to paternity leave, which is a common and costly assumption. Check for anyone in a protected period before consultation begins, not after.
We have a way of checking whether parental leave or return to work is affecting access to progression, development or promotion.If you cannot currently check this, that may be an important gap in understanding career equity.
Our approach to senior roles allows for different forms of flexible working where the role permits.Flexible working can involve changes to hours, working patterns, start and finish times or location. The important question is whether seniority creates an unnecessary barrier to accessing flexibility.
06.

Wellbeing, loss and mental health

Whether support extends beyond policy into wellbeing, loss and mental health.
Every pregnant employee receives an individual risk assessment, which is reviewed as circumstances or needs change.Critical. Your general workplace risk assessment must already cover risks to women of childbearing age, whether or not anyone has told you they are pregnant. Once a worker informs you in writing, you must complete an individual risk assessment and review it as the pregnancy progresses or the work changes. Protection from pregnancy discrimination starts earlier still, from the moment you know or suspect someone is pregnant.
Managers feel able to recognise when an employee may benefit from additional perinatal mental health support and know where to signpost.Perinatal mental health difficulties are common, and managers can play an important role in recognising when further support may be helpful.
Our signposting information is reviewed regularly to ensure the services, contact details and links we provide are current.Out-of-date signposting can create an additional barrier at the point someone is actively seeking support.
We understand retention following return from parental leave, rather than measuring return to work alone.Return rates show who comes back. Longer-term retention gives a clearer picture of whether people feel able and willing to stay.

Your score

0 / 25Not yet started

Tick the statements that reflect what happens in practice. Your band and any critical gaps will appear as you go.

Your answers are processed on this page only. Nothing is submitted or emailed. Read all 25 statements before treating the band as your final result.

0-9EmergingThere are substantial gaps between policy, practice and what employees experience. That is a common place to start, and the critical items below are where to begin.
10-13DevelopingFoundations are in place, but employees’ experiences are likely to vary depending on the situation, the team, or the manager they happen to have.
14-17EstablishedGood foundations, applied reasonably consistently. The gaps that remain tend to show up in the harder moments rather than the everyday ones.
18-21AdvancedStrong and consistent practice across most areas. What usually separates this from the top band is measurement: knowing it works rather than believing it does.
22-25ThrivingStrong, consistent and measured practice. The priority now is holding it through manager turnover, which is where good practice most often quietly erodes.
The seven critical items: prioritise any gaps here, regardless of your overall score

What to do with this

The uncomfortable question

If a member of your team told you tomorrow that they were pregnant, that they'd had a miscarriage, or that their baby was in neonatal care, would their experience depend on which manager they happened to have?
If the answer could vary depending on the manager, that points to a gap between policy and consistent practice. Closing that gap requires more than policy alone; it depends on manager capability, clear processes and an organisational culture that supports people consistently.

What this self-audit cannot tell you

This gives you a useful snapshot from one organisational perspective. The commissioned Diagnostic goes further by triangulating organisational evidence, employee experience and manager capability to create a fuller baseline and identify where change will have the greatest value.

Explore the DiagnosticBook a discovery call

If you need support yourself

This audit names pregnancy loss, baby loss and neonatal care. If you are reading it as someone who has been through any of that, these organisations are here for you.

If you are pregnant and worried about your own or your baby’s health, contact your maternity triage unit directly. If you cannot reach them, call 111. In an emergency, call 999.

Contact details checked 14 September 2026.