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
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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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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Conclusions (6)
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.
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.
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.