Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
6th Report - Equality at work: Paternity and shared parental leave
Women and Equalities Committee
HC 502
Published 10 June 2025
Recommendations
2
Deferred
Raise statutory paternity pay to 90% of average earnings for first six weeks
Recommendation
A key aim of the Government’s review of the parental leave system must be to incentivise greater gender equality in parenting responsibilities. Increasing statutory paternity pay is a vital part of achieving this. As a priority, the Government must consider …
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Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of gender equality in parenting and that the system needs improvement. It defers the recommendation to significantly raise statutory paternity pay to the ongoing 18-month parental leave and pay review, which will consider all entitlements and costs.
Government Equalities Office
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3
Acknowledged
Introduce phased increases to statutory parental pay, reaching 80% of average earnings
Recommendation
In the longer term, the Government must also consider a feasible approach to phased introduction of increases to statutory pay across the system, to bring rates for all working parents up to a very substantial proportion (80% or more) of …
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Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the recommendation to increase statutory pay but defers it to the ongoing parental leave and pay review, stating the review will consider how the system can promote economic growth and improve women's labour market outcomes.
Government Equalities Office
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4
Accepted in Part
Legislate for a day one right to paid paternity leave in the Employment Rights Bill
Recommendation
A key objective of reform of the paid parental leave system should be to promote equality. Maternity and paternity rights should be as equal as possible, to benefit mothers, fathers and families. We therefore welcome the Government’s intention to legislate …
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Government Response Summary
The government commits to legislating for a day one right to unpaid paternity leave but rejects a day one right to paid paternity leave due to practical and financial challenges, stating the parental leave review will consider entitlements holistically.
Government Equalities Office
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7
Acknowledged
Increase paid statutory paternity leave to six weeks and assess making a portion compulsory
Recommendation
The Government’s review must consider a feasible plan to incrementally increase the period of paid paternity leave, drawing on lessons from recent reform programmes overseas, for example in Spain. As an initial medium- term objective, it should set out a …
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Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of fathers' roles and will engage stakeholders through the parental leave and pay review. It highlights initial steps requiring employers to publish action plans that *may* promote parental leave policies, but does not commit to increasing paid paternity leave to six weeks or making it compulsory.
Government Equalities Office
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8
Deferred
Introduce a Paternity Allowance equivalent to Maternity Allowance for self-employed fathers
Recommendation
Lack of provision for self-employed parents, particularly fathers and other parents, is a key flaw in the system. Given the substantial economic contribution of self-employed fathers, it is grossly unfair to exclude them. Lack of provision causes financial hardship and …
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Government Response Summary
The government thanks the committee for highlighting the "A Better Start" campaign and mentions expanding the Family Hubs programme, but generally defers the specific recommendations for statutory paid leave and a Paternity Allowance for self-employed fathers, and rectifying Maternity Allowance rules, to its ongoing parental leave and pay review and call for evidence.
Government Equalities Office
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11
Accepted
Reduce cultural and societal barriers preventing fathers, especially working-class, from taking parental leave.
Recommendation
Alongside reforms of statutory paternity pay and leave entitlements, the Government’s review must consider steps it can take to reduce wider cultural and societal barriers to fathers taking more leave. It should in particularly consider steps to reduce cultural barriers …
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Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation, stating it will engage with stakeholders through its parental leave and pay review, conduct focus groups and roundtables, and collaborate with trade unions and businesses. It also plans to require employers to publish action plans promoting parental leave policies, provide clear guidance, and develop case studies to reduce barriers for fathers taking more leave.
Government Equalities Office
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12
Accepted in Part
Evaluate effectiveness of local initiatives and commission schemes supporting fathers' caring roles nationwide.
Recommendation
There have been recent local initiatives, for example in Blackpool, Bradford, Lambeth, Nottingham and Southend, in partnership with the National Children’s Bureau’s A Better Start campaign, designed to support fathers to play a more equal role in parenting. This has …
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Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the 'A Better Start' campaign and states it will invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme to support parents. As part of the parental leave and pay review, it will consider evidence from a wide range of stakeholders and has launched a call for evidence, but it doesn't specifically commit to commissioning 'A Better Start' type schemes nationally.
Government Equalities Office
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13
Deferred
Review adequacy of legal protections against paternity discrimination and raise awareness of rights.
Recommendation
In implementing reforms that work towards a more gender equal parental leave system, the Government must consider the potential impacts on employment discrimination against fathers and other parents. The Government’s review must consider the adequacy of legal protections against paternity …
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Government Response Summary
The government's response broadly discusses how the parental leave and pay review will consider support for various working families facing challenges, including kinship carers, single parents, and those with multiple births, but does not specifically address the adequacy of legal protections against paternity discrimination or awareness of fathers' legal rights.
Government Equalities Office
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15
Accepted in Part
Simplify or remove Shared Parental Leave's complex eligibility criteria to widen access.
Recommendation
The Government must consider steps to address flaws in SPL, increase take up and widen access. The Government’s review must examine the function and necessity of SPL’s complex eligibility criteria, with a view to simplifying or removing the employment status, …
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Government Response Summary
The government commits to removing the requirement that Paternity Leave and Pay must be taken before Shared Parental Leave to offer more flexibility. However, the broader examination of SPL's complex eligibility criteria, with a view to simplifying or removing them and widening access, will be considered as part of the ongoing parental leave and pay review.
Government Equalities Office
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19
Deferred
Address inequality for single parent families by allowing reallocation of co-parent leave entitlements.
Recommendation
In reforming the parental leave system, the Government must address inequality for single parent families. Unlike in many developed countries, single parents do not receive any portion of the paid leave that would be available to the household if they …
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Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the challenges faced by single-parent families and states that the parental leave and pay review will consider options for them, including international systems, to ensure the system supports all working families.
Government Equalities Office
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20
Deferred
Require Government review to consider additional financial support for parents of multiple births
Recommendation
Our paid parental leave system provides comparatively very poorly for parents of multiple births, who face unique financial, practical and emotional impacts in caring for their babies and young children and juggling work commitments. The Government’s review must consider options …
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Government Response Summary
The government thanks the committee for highlighting challenges for parents of multiple births and states that the parental leave and pay review will consider these situations, including international systems, to better support all working families.
Government Equalities Office
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21
Deferred
Commit to meaningful reforms of the parental leave system in the medium term
Recommendation
The Government has said the parental leave system is broken and promised to launch a “full review”. It is clear that the system has some fundamental failings, including low statutory pay across the board; inadequate leave periods for fathers and …
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Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the failings of the parental leave system and states it has launched a review that is currently in a discovery phase. It commits to publishing findings and a roadmap for potential reforms after the review concludes, rather than committing to specific medium-term reforms or an end-of-Parliament assessment.
Government Equalities Office
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22
Deferred
Adopt robust economic model for assessing costs and benefits of parental leave reforms
Recommendation
Producing much-needed substantial change to our paid parental leave system will require considerable financial investment. For example, the direct costs of extending and increasing paid leave for fathers and other parents to six weeks at 90% of average earnings are …
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Government Response Summary
The government confirms engagement with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and states that their economic model for extending paternity leave is being considered as part of the ongoing parental leave and pay review, promising a robust cost-benefit assessment for future policy options.
Government Equalities Office
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23
Deferred
Publish transparent data on gender equality outcomes and parental leave take-up by gender
Recommendation
The Government’s review should have gender equality at its heart. Countries which provide a substantial period of well-paid leave for fathers and other parents have on average a four-percentage point smaller gender pay gap than those that allow less than …
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Government Response Summary
The government recognizes the importance of gender equality and will consider these objectives, including improving women's labour market outcomes and tackling the gender pay gap, within its ongoing parental leave and pay review. It states that data on parental leave take-up by gender is already routinely published and a roadmap with relevant data supporting further action will be set out at the review's completion.
Government Equalities Office
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Conclusions (9)
1
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The UK’s rate of statutory parental pay is completely out of kilter with the cost of living. At considerably less than half of the National Living Wage and real Living Wage, it has not kept pace with inflation and is far below rates in most comparable countries. This causes financial …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of parents taking time off and that the parental leave system can do more to support families. It notes the annual review of statutory pay and states that the recently launched parental leave and pay review, which will last 18 months, will consider all entitlements including statutory pay rates.
5
Conclusion
Deferred
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 …
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.
6
Conclusion
Deferred
There is very strong evidence from around the world and from UK employers’ gender equal schemes that providing fathers and other parents with an extended period of sustainably paid statutory leave typically transforms take up. Extending paternity leave therefore has the potential to shift the dial on gendered allocation of …
Government Response Summary
The government notes the committee's concerns about extended paid leave shifting gendered responsibilities and states this will be a key consideration, alongside fairness and equality, within the ongoing parental leave and pay review, including for self-employed parents.
9
Conclusion
Acknowledged
While there is evidence of appetite for more leave among fathers across occupational and income groups, fathers in lower income and working-class occupational groups may face additional cultural barriers to taking leave. These households and communities are more likely to hold traditionalist views about gendered caring responsibilities, and these fathers …
Government Response Summary
The government recognizes low take-up of Shared Parental Leave and states it is in scope of the parental leave and pay review, which will gather evidence, consider simplification, and examine international models to inform future reforms.
10
Conclusion
Accepted
The design and staffing of services for new parents caring for babies is highly gendered and can exclude or marginalise men, compounding cultural barriers to them taking a greater role in caring for their children. (Conclusion, Paragraph 69)
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the important role of fathers and partners, referencing existing initiatives like the Family Hubs programme and "A Better Start" campaign that support families. It notes that while some related policy areas are outside the scope of the parental leave review, it will consider their interactions with possible reforms.
14
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Shared Parental Leave (SPL) has clear benefits for couples who are able to access it. SPL enables a range of flexible options in how parents share their parental responsibilities and balance these with working life. It is the only aspect of our system that allows fathers and other parents an …
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the benefits of Shared Parental Leave (SPL) but also its low take-up and awareness. It notes a change through the Employment Rights Bill to allow paternity leave after SPL and states that SPL is within the scope of the ongoing parental leave and pay review to consider simplification.
16
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The Government’s review should examine barriers to flexibility in the SPL scheme, including the requirement for employees to give employers eight weeks’ notice of blocks of leave and changes to start and end dates for leave. This should be with a view, subject to consultation with employers, to reducing notice …
Government Response Summary
The government welcomes the committee's call for a full review of the parental leave and pay system, confirming it is underway, gathering evidence to identify opportunities for improvement and will publish findings and a roadmap for potential reforms.
17
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The Government’s review must consider financial incentives to increase take up of SPL. The review should examine approaches taken in overseas systems, including the German “partnership bonus” and Portugal’s “sharing 59 bonus”, which provide additional paid leave to couples in which both parents take a substantial portion of leave while …
Government Response Summary
The government confirms that the proposal to extend paternity leave, and its associated economic analysis, is being considered as part of the parental leave and pay review, which will conduct a robust assessment of costs and benefits for any policy options.
18
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The Government’s review must include consideration of the needs of kinship carers, with a view to including them in the paid parental leave system. This should include consideration of the costs and wider benefits of implementing statutory paid leave for kinship carers, in line with provision for parents by adoption …
Government Response Summary
The government states that the parental leave and pay review aims to reset the system, considering objectives like economic growth, women's labour market outcomes, and fairness, and will gather evidence to inform a future roadmap, but does not explicitly commit to including kinship carers in the paid parental leave system.