Paternity leave proposals unattractive for fathers
Sep 16 2009
Fathers will not take up the new paternity leave entitlement set out by the government, claims the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
The government measures will allow mothers to decide to return to work after six months, after which fathers will have the option to take the remaining legal entitlement of six months.
The research shows that the low statutory pay requirement would dissuade fathers from taking the extra time off work.
Mike Emmott, employee relations adviser at the CIPD, says: 'Our research shows that paid paternity leave, restricted as it is to a statutory £123.06 per week, is not attractive to the vast majority of fathers.'
The CIPD asserts that less than half of fathers would take even the existing two weeks' leave at statutory pay levels, 'so the proposed increase in paid paternity leave is unlikely to lead to any dramatic increase in take-up.'
In addition, the CIPD expressed concern about the administrative burden involved in sharing parental leave, which would discourage employers from promoting the new measures, and potentially lead to parents failing to get the leave to which they are entitled.
Andrew Millard, director of e-commerce at Citrix Online, says: 'While the government's proposal to allow mothers to split some of their maternity leave with their partners may be valuable in assisting new parents, the move is likely to be an added burden for employers who are already under increasing economic pressure, particularly smaller businesses.'
Comment by Claire Attwood
Wednesday 16th September 2009I must have missed something - why is the statutory maternity allowance so unsatisfactory for men, but perfectly acceptable for women? Is it based on the assumption that dad earns more than mom? I am pregnant, and my partner earns significantly less than me. If he is able to take 6 months maternity leave this will make a huge and positive difference to our finances as I will be able to return to work earlier, and our child gets to spend the first year of it's life cared for by it's parents. This is fantastic news for us. The insignificant amount of maternity pay we get is far outweighed by my full time salary and the lack of childcare costs for 6 months. Plus it will bring about an end to discrimination against women in the workplace on the grounds that they are likely to take maternity leave, if men are just as likely to take time off. This change is long past due.
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Comment by Mohammed Jiwa
Wednesday 16th September 2009I think that in larger cities, the pay scales are more similar between the genders than say in small towns. Or women do earn more than men in some cases. However, there are still many areas of the UK where men earn more than their partners, and as discussed in the article, this new entitlement would put a lot of men off taking paternity leave. However, I do agree with Claire that this a change long past due, and I would like to see more equality like this in the workplace. If we can first make it so pay scales are equal between the genders, then it would make perfect sense to share the child-care leave.
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