Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 5
5
Deferred
UK paternity leave is inadequate, entrenching gender stereotypes and harming families
Conclusion
Since introducing up to two weeks of paid statutory paternity leave over 20 years ago, the UK has fallen far behind many comparable countries. We now have one of the worst leave offers in the developed world for fathers and other parents. A maximum of two weeks paternity leave is completely out of step with how most couples want to share their parenting responsibilities and balance these with working life. Our system entrenches outdated gender stereotypes about caring and harms fathers, mothers and families. The system requires substantial change. (Conclusion, Paragraph 64)
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the need for change in parental leave and states it will enable Paternity Leave to be taken after Shared Parental Leave. However, it defers the consideration of increasing the length of paid Paternity Leave to the ongoing parental leave and pay review.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
The government recognises that more can be done to support working families and facilitate the best start in life for babies and young children. We know that the system needs to reflect the required flexibility for the realities of modern work and childcare needs, which is why through the Employment Rights Bill we are enabling Paternity Leave to be taken after Shared Parental Leave. The flexibility this gives rise to will enable employees to move towards better paid employment without fear of losing their right to protected time away to be with their families. We have also launched the parental leave and pay review to ensure parental leave and pay best supports working families, and this will include looking at Paternity Leave and Pay. The government recognises the committee’s recommendation to increase the length of paid Paternity Leave; however, it is important that these kinds of proposals are considered through the parental leave review so that we are able to look at the system as a whole. The review will look at how we can promote economic growth through the parental leave system by enabling more parents to stay in work and advance their careers after starting a family, with a particular focus on improving both women’s labour market outcomes, tacking gender pay gap, and supporting parents’ ability to make balanced childcare choices that work for their family. By allowing the review to conclude and inform our approach on Paternity Leave we will be able to look at the system overall to ensure it best delivers for working families.