Campaigners are calling on the UK government to provide new fathers with more time off at better pay, as new paternity leave rules come into effect. Statutory paternity leave, which has a weekly maximum of £172.48, will enable fathers in England, Wales and Scotland to take two weeks’ leave in separate one-week chunks, at any point during the baby’s first year. The changes only apply to babies born from April 6th, and employers only need four weeks’ notice from fathers before they take leave, instead of 15. However, campaigners argue that the changes “fail to address the reality of hard-working families’ financial challenges” and represent “a missed opportunity”.
Parents who don’t take their full paternity or parental leave allowance, which many new fathers and secondary parents feel they can’t afford, meant that out of 500 surveyed by parenting charity Pregnant Then Screwed in 2024, 70% didn’t take full leave for that reason. Moreover, a separate survey from 2023 showed that 43% of those eligible did not use their full parental leave entitlement due to financial worries. Fathers are not entitled to statutory paternity leave if they earn less than £123 a week, are self-employed or have not worked continuously for the same employer for at least 26 weeks.
The Fatherhood Institute agrees that more needs to be done, but the government has said that the changes provide “greater flexibility” for families. Countries with more than six weeks’ paid paternity leave reportedly have a 4% smaller gender pay gap, which is why campaigners such as PTS founder Joeli Brearly are calling for all UK fathers, including the self-employed, to receive 90% of their salary for six weeks, however long they have had their job.
Some UK companies offer enhanced paternity leave, such as Monzo, which allows employees to take 13 weeks off work at full pay when their child is born. However, owner of Production Park, Jim Farmery, says that small companies such as his, which employs 30 people, would be shocked by a statutory change since they cannot absorb the additional costs. Campaigners argue that such changes are needed or the government will miss the impetus to fix the issue, which would benefit gender equality, the economy and families overall
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