Baby Alex Latham-Reynolds will be the first child to have his father take advantage of the UK’s new enhanced paternity leave provisions. He intends to start his sabbatical in September. Nairobi’s decision makes the capital a bellwether for the rest of the country. It has been known for providing some of the worst paternity leave in Europe. Currently, UK fathers are entitled to just two statutory weeks of leave, paid at £184.03 a week, leading to a staggering statistic: one in three UK fathers take no paternity leave after the birth of their child.
A new campaign for more paternity leave has gone viral. The reformer, HMSA MP Shaun Davies paints a far rosier picture and equally urgent need for systemic change. The urgent need for change has been underlined by the cross-party women and equalities select committee. They announced that the UK’s statutory parental leave system is one of the worst in the developed world and has underlying deficiencies. MPs on the committee have demanded that new dads receive a minimum of six weeks’ paternity leave paid.
Advocates have made great strides more recently at shifting the national conversation on paternal leave. This change started when Stella Creasy became the first MP to use a pilot scheme that provided full locum cover for her first child in 2020. Following this, Ian Murray became the first cabinet minister to take full paternity leave after the birth of his second child, setting a precedent for other fathers in Parliament.
Labour MP Luke Charters is pledged to take a minimum of four weeks paternity leave. This leave will come on the heels of his second son’s birth. In doing so, he hopes to change the way we think about fathers’ responsibilities. Surprisingly, Charters got many messages from constituents in their favor. That’s an encouraging sign of a growing recognition of the vital role that fatherhood plays in early childhood development.
“Paternity leave – any parental leave – is not rest, it’s essential caregiving at the start of a child’s life.” – Luke Charters
Charters pushed fathers to take up their rightful place as caregivers. He stated, “Being an MP is a privilege. It’s one of the busiest jobs in Britain, but I’ve got to be a dad first and an MP second.” With his approach, he wants to set an example for other fathers and inspire them to be more present with their families.
“I think it’s really important to kind of model that behaviour and sort of lead by example.” – Luke Charters
The Dad Shift campaign group, which has lobbied hard for new paternity leave policies, has had a crucial hand in changing the nature of the conversation. Recently, men and their newborns united to form a “dad strike.” They took to the streets outside the Department for Business and Trade in London. This event served as a powerful reminder that we need a cultural shift around parental leave and the way we support fathers.
Richard Lloyd, chair of Ipsa, remarked that they are “continually looking at ways to support a family-friendly parliament.” His remarks are indicative of the level of discussion happening within parliamentary circles about how to make meaningful changes to parental leave policy.
Even with all of this progress, too many fathers struggle to secure their right to take paternity leave. Most advocates consider today’s statutory offering insufficient. They make the case that boosted leave benefits fathers and families overall. Advocating for a national, six weeks statutory leave will immediately address all these issues. This action helps establish a workplace culture where both parents — equally — can take on caregiving responsibilities.