The Lead Untangles: Paternity Leave in the UK, is it on its knees and what needs to change?
Proper paternity leave is good for dads, mums and kids - but where is the UK at on the issue?
At a glance facts
Dads in the UK are entitled to some of the least generous paternity leave in Europe, and among the worst of the world’s richest countries, but there is growing pressure on Westminster to change this.
Several campaign groups like The Dad Shift, Fatherhood Institute, and Pregnant Then Screwed have collected and presented evidence to the Women and Equalities Committee to make a case for paternity leave that is substantial, affordable and equal.
Fatherhood Institute has made the case for 6 weeks’ well-paid leave for all fathers, of which a month would be reserved, use-it-or-lose-it parental leave. The Dad Shift has submitted the stories of hundreds of dads in hopes of shaping recommendations to the government on the future of paternity leave.
Currently, employed dads can take one or two weeks of paid leave if they are having a baby. The government either pays £184.03 a week or 90% of an employee's average weekly earnings - whichever amount is lower. Some companies may offer their own paternity leave deals. If you are self-employed, have no rights to statutory paternity leave.
Mothers can give their partners some of their leave allowance via Shared Parental Leave provided both employers have opted into the scheme. Less than 2% of families use Shared Parental Leave, according to research from The Dad Shift because it’s poorly paid, too complicated, and forces dads to take leave away from mums.
A 2023 YouGov survey commissioned by Pregnant Then Screwed found that almost a third of fathers didn’t take paternity leave after the birth of their child due to the UK’s “measly” paternity leave rights. 62% said they would take more leave if the rate of statutory paternity pay increased. 63% of men said they did not feel mentally ready to return to work.
Proper paternity leave is evidenced to be good for mums, good for dads, good for kids, and good for the economy, and campaigners also believe paternity leave can help play a role in combating the rightward political shift of young men.
Context
The first year of a baby’s life lays a critical foundation, and recognising this, 185 countries provide at least a month of paid leave to mothers. Generous maternity leave and pay helps women maintain jobs and income, while supporting infant health and maternal mental health.
But what about fathers? Why do only 51 countries provide the same month for dads? Because without longer, paid paternity leave, the gender pay gap and discrimination in the workplace increases, and broader inequalities and patriarchal values are reinforced.
Paternity leave has been proven to improve father-child bonding, with evidence showing children with more involved fathers have improved outcomes in education, cognitive development, and emotional wellbeing.
And yet, the UK’s paternity leave and pay offer the bare minimum as compared to other European or wealthy countries. And it shows, because dads aren’t taking it. Only three in five fathers took two weeks or less paternity leave following the birth of their most recent child. 70.6% of fathers who only used part of their paternity leave entitlement revealed that it was because they couldn’t afford to stay off any longer.
In addition to financial barriers, some dads have cited fears of discrimination, missing out on pay rises and promotions, and being mocked when taking paternity leave.
If paternity leave and pay in the UK looked more like Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Belgium, Italy, or Lithuania (just to name a few), campaigners are hopeful that dads would feel confident taking time off to bond with their babies, support their partners, parent equally, and reduce the looming gender pay gap and workplace discrimination for women.
What proper paternity leave actually does
In 2003, when the Labour government introduced statutory paid paternity leave in the UK, it appeared to herald a long overdue revolution in parental leave policy to lead to equal balance for working parents and tackle discrimination against mothers.
But other countries have done even better in the years since and are seeing the positive repercussions.
Paternity leave improves outcome for kids when it comes to father-child bonding, education, cognitive development and emotional wellbeing.
Studies find that fathers who report close connection with their children live longer, have fewer mental and physical health problems, are less likely to abuse drugs, are more productive at work, and report being happier than men who do not have this strong connection.
With gender inequality in parenting the biggest driver of the gender pay gap (OECD recently estimated that the “motherhood penalty” accounts for around 75% of the gender wage gap in Northern and Western European countries), paternity leave breaks down social and policy barriers for men to play a bigger role in childcare.
Nearly 1 in 2 Britons say that when it comes to giving women equal rights with men, things have gone far enough in Great Britain, and academics like Richard Reeves believes that active fatherhood plays a central role in a more positive vision of what it means to be a man today.
What the left is saying
“The biggest impediment to paternity leave is culture. Taking time off is hugely critical for a number of reasons: to be with them, to also bond with the child, and to take the pressure off mum. From a wider policy perspective, I think it’s really important for dads to know they can a) take it and b) the culture can change.” Scottish Labour MP for Edinburgh South Ian Murray
“As a father myself, I do have a vested interest in this issue, but better paternity rights are not just good for fathers; they are good for mums and, more importantly, for children.” Labour MP for Telford Shaun Davies
“I'm constantly asking my wife questions to try and play catch up… and that just embeds my wife in that role and I’m the sous chef. We have to change that if we are going to fundamentally change the inequality.” Labour MP for High Peak Jon Pearce
“We can achieve equality in hiring, business, and childcare only with reform. To give our kids the best start in life, women equality in the workplace, and to value the Dads we want young boys to grow up to be, we must act. The Government’s parental leave review should be just the beginning in valuing family and parenthood as we should." Labour MP for Makerfield Josh Simons.
“54,000 women a year lose their jobs when they are pregnant or on maternity leave. One in ten HR managers say they would be reluctant to hire women who they thought even might start a family. Law has not solved this. Will the Prime Minster please meet with me, Dad Shift, and Pregnant Then Screwed, to discuss ring fenced paid paternity leave that is needed to bring about change?” Labour MP for Congleton Sarah Russell.
“Labour knows that the current parental leave system does not support working families. We will review the parental leave system so that it best supports working families within the first year of a Labour government. As part of our mission to reduce the impact of parental income on a child’s opportunities, we will ensure that parental leave is a day one right.” Labour Manifesto
What the right is saying
“To ask the Secretary of States for the Home Department, whether her Department offers paternity leave to its staff from their first working day.” Conservative MP Andrew Griffith
“Parental leave and the gender pay gap are closely linked. Until we get it right for dads we can’t get it right for mums. There should be protected dad leave because that is the most effective way of getting dads to take time off – and not just when their little ones are born.” Dame Maria Miller, formerly Conservative MP for Basingstoke
"Maternity pay varies, depending on who you work for - but statutory maternity pay is a function of tax, tax comes from people who are working. We’re taking from one group of people and giving to another. This, in my view, is excessive….I think [maternity leave has] gone too far.” Leader of the Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch
“It’s a striking fact that more parents split up in the first years after a child’s birth than at any other time. So we’re introducing a system of shared parental leave, to enable mothers and fathers to share childcare during their first year as parents.” Conservative David Cameron’s Speech on Families in 2014 in which Shared Parental Leave was introduced.
What happens next
The Women and Equalities Committee launched a call for written evidence on statutory paternity and shared parental leave in December after the Government “stopped short of fundamental changes to maternity, paternity, and shared parental leave and pay” in the Employment Rights Bill.
“The Government has acknowledged that “the current parental leave system does not support working parents” and has committed to conduct a “full review” as the first stage of longer-term reform. Unequal division of childcaring responsibilities is a key driver of wider gender inequality and the gender pay gap.
Written submissions via the inquiry from the WEC were due at the end of January, to be reviewed at a later date.
About The Lead Untangles: In an era where misinformation is actively and deliberately used by elected politicians and where advocates and opposers of beliefs state their point of view as fact, sometimes the most useful tool reporters have is to help readers make sense of the world.
The Lead Untangles is delivered each Friday by The Lead and focuses on a different complex, divisive issue with each edition.
About the author: Lauren Crosby Medlicott is a freelance journalist who focuses on features about social justice and human rights.
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