Almost a third of fathers took no paternity leave after the birth of their child, as a result of the UK’s “measly” paternity leave rights, according to research.
Two decades after paternity leave rights were established, research suggests that the UK has fallen behind and now has the least generous entitlements in Europe.
Only 18% of the British public think that paternity leave should be 2 weeks or less, according to a YouGov survey commissioned for a report by the campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed, the Centre for Progressive Policy thinktank (CPP) and Women in Data. Of the fathers surveyed, 62% said they would take more leave if the rate of statutory paternity pay (SPP) increased.
The report, released by the organisations before Father’s Day this weekend, argues that boosting rights for fathers and second parents would help close the gender pay gap.
CPP analysis of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data found that countries with more than six weeks of paid paternity leave had a 4% smaller gender wage gap and 3.7% smaller labour force participation gap than countries that had less than six weeks.
Recent research by CPP report estimates that closing the gender employment gap in all UK local authorities could boost GDP by 1%, increasing economic output by £23bn. “These things really do make a difference to gender equality,” said Rosie Fogden, the head of research and analysis at CPP.
The report, titled “Leave in the lurch: Paternity leave, gender equality and the UK economy”, argues that the low rate of pay available to fathers after the birth of a child – £172 a week, or 44% of the national living wage – denies many time with their babies, puts stress on families and damages the mental health of both parents.
Almost a third (29%) of parents surveyed by YouGov said either they or their partner had experienced a new mental health issue in the two years after the birth of their most recent child, and 45% of those parents had received no treatment.
Joeli Brearley, the founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, said it was the first data of its kind to show the economic benefit of paternity leave and she called on political parties to include progressive parenting policies in their manifestos before the next general election.
“We have the least generous paternity benefit in Europe,” she said. “Dads and partners get a measly £172 a week for two weeks and because babies can’t suddenly look after themselves when they are two weeks old, this means the joy and sometimes the burden of care falls on to the shoulders of women.”
Analysis of PTS “state of the nation” survey data, weighted by Women in Data to provide a nationally representative picture, shows that women who had a child or adopted in the past three years had taken an average of 40 weeks’ leave, compared with an average of two weeks for fathers. Of those surveyed, 63% of men said they had not felt mentally ready to return to work.
The report’s authors argue that low pay is stopping men taking more leave. The PTS survey found that only 12% of men with a household income of £20,000-25,000 had access to and had taken their full entitlement of leave, compared with 51% of men with a household income of more than £200,000.
Recent research by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) found that one in five fathers were not taking any paternity leave, mainly for financial reasons, with half of families struggling when fathers did go on paternity leave.
The report estimates that increasing paternity leave to six weeks, offering it at 90% of salary and opening up the eligibility criteria to all working fathers and partners would cost between £1bn and £1.6bn a year. “For all those benefits, that is a bargain,” said Brearley.
“This is an open goal for the next government,” she said. “If they are looking for a policy to excite the electorate, to instil hope for the future, to improve the outcomes for children, parents and the economy, whilst reducing gender inequality, then it’s here.”
