High cost of shared parental leave for fathers

TWO OUT of five fathers cannot afford to take shared parental leave, a new study suggests.

Research indicated that uptake of the measure, introduced almost five years ago, remains low.

Parents can share up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of statutory pay between them following the birth of a child, designed to allow couples to split child-caring roles more equally.

A survey of 1,000 fathers indicated that only 3.8 per cent of eligible couples took shared parental pay in 2018/19, a slight increase from 2.2 per cent in 2015/16.

A third of fathers would like to share parental leave with their female partner and one in four would change jobs or take a pay cut if it meant they could spend more time with their family, said the report by meeting provider PowWowNow.

Two out of five told researchers they cannot afford to take shared parental leave.

Andrew Johnson, managing director of PowWowNow, said: “Fathers rightly see themselves as equally crucial caregivers for their children and are keen to split childcare responsibilities with their partners more evenly.

“Businesses and the government must ensure these shifts in cultural perceptions of gender roles in parenting are reflected in changes to the workplace and in parental leave policies. Workplaces must introduce family-friendly policies and flexible working practices for new fathers.

“Empowering fathers to take a more active role in child-raising can help tackle gender disparity in the workplace and see us move towards a more equal society.”

This comes as many fathers are taking an increased role in childcare under lockdown.