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New dads in the UK are afforded a mere two weeks of paternity leave, yet for many families, particularly when a birth has not been straightforward, this is not enough and when pay is at statutory level it's also unaffordable.
Father’s Day is celebrated this Sunday, 16 June 2024 – a day to mark the role of dads in the family set up and applaud all that they do from goal defence duties, to packer of school lunch boxes, fixer of Lego displays and broken cars together with all the wonderful smatterings of life that occur between pauses of breath in between. For most father’s, it is a privilege to bring up a child or children but one that also comes with many responsibilities. Yet, for many those early days and weeks are becoming increasingly squeezed with new father’s reporting they are taking just two weeks off work with their bundles of joy.
Paternity leave allowances
Of course, this may come as little surprise because the reality is that this is what the regulations stipulate. Paternity leave allows new fathers up to two paid weeks of paternity leave. Employment rights are protected during this period. It’s a very brief period in which dads can support the mother of their child and if the baby is adopted take on full responsibility along with their partner. If we consider that two weeks is also the general period that is saved up for a longer annual leave holiday, then we can see where the problems may lie because parenting is not in any shape or form a holiday and two weeks is a mere yawn of the mouth and a roll out of the bed, it is in essence very little time to get to know that huge, new responsibility that has just walked into your life.
The other lesser talked about part is dads being on hand whilst mum recovers from giving birth. My wife took months to get back to full strength and I couldn't be there to support her physically or emotionally which of course then has an emotional drain on the dad as he feels a little helpless
Zurich, the insurer conducted research to find that a third of new dads were forced to take holiday while 12% resorted to unpaid leave in order to spend time with their new babies. A further 15% were concerned that taking extended paternity leave would be frowned upon by their boss and 12% felt it would impact career progression. Yet, for many talented professionals it’s also a deal breaker with 43% also citing they look for paid paternity leave above bonus (42%) and salary (27%) when looking for a new role. It’s no wonder too when you consider that many businesses offer just the Government statutory pay which amounts to £184.03 per week. A figure that doesn’t cover a lot of nappies or newborn clothes. It’s a worry that of those that took no time off, 70% simply couldn’t afford to.
For Chris Britton, People Experience Director, Reward Gateway, and father of a 20-month old, the need to take additional holiday rings true.
"My own personal experience of becoming a new father was taking 1 week paternity leave and needing to book an extra week as annual leave.”
What the leave doesn’t account for, and was the case for Britton and his family, is that two weeks is short even when mum and baby are well but when things don’t go according to plan it can feel even more pinched and unfair.
“I think a lot of the conversation is about helping dads spend more time bonding with their new borns and that is absolutely right. However, the other lesser talked about part is dads being on hand whilst mum recovers from giving birth. My wife took months to get back to full strength and I couldn't be there to support her physically or emotionally which of course then has an emotional drain on the dad as he feels a little helpless,” adds Britton.
