Research shows paternity leave in UK 'woefully inadequate' compared to rest of Europe

Only 18% of the British public think that paternity leave should be two 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 statistics show that almost a third of UK fathers took no paternity leave after the birth of their child, as a result of Britain’s ‘measley’ paternity leave rights, the research highlighted.

Two decades after paternity leave rights were established, research suggests that the UK now has the least generous entitlements in Europe.

The report, released before Father’s Day on June 18, argues that boosting rights for fathers would help close the pernicious and stubbornly persistent 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 such as the UK 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.

Commenting on the research findings Rosie Fogden from the CPP said: "While long-held societal norms about gendered parenting roles are shifting, the UK’s parental leave system has not kept pace. Extending paid paternity leave could also help us to close the gender pay gap, which in turn could boost the economy.”

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, is damaging for the mental health of both parents and puts additional and needless stress on families in the immediate aftermath of a new arrival.

Of those surveyed by a YouGov poll, 29% of parents 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, while a hugely significant 45% of those parents had received no treatment.

Recent research by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) found one in five UK fathers were not taking any paternity leave, mainly for financial reasons, with half of families struggling when fathers did go on paternity leave.