Paternity Leave: A Forgotten Tool?
For every man expecting his first child, there comes the moment when he confronts his work’s paternity policy for the first time.
For me, as a One Nation Tory who believes in fair government, my encounter with my employer’s paternity leave policy was a moment of bemusement.
I am the future father of a little girl. My wife, a woman, is entitled to 52 weeks’ Maternity Leave: 6 weeks at 90% of weekly earnings and a further 33 weeks at the lower of £151.20 or 90% of weekly earnings.
Frequently, employer maternity policies go above this statutory minimum. Many female employees receive between 6 weeks and 9 months full pay, reducing to half or statutory pay after this.
This enhancement a good thing. The average UK salary for an employee is £471 per week[1], so current statutory Maternity Pay could be much more ambitious and supportive than it is. However, for men, paternity leave options are starker.
As a father, the state requires that I receive two weeks’ Paternity Leave. This must be taken in one block, and I must be paid the lower of £151.20 per week or 90% of my weekly pay.
My employer, I learnt, is more generous than the state; I get two weeks of full-pay Paternity Leave. Still, though, this feels rather paltry in comparison with my wife’s options.
In an aging society, with a domestic birth rate below the replacement rate, the Conservative Government should encourage couples to have children, not financially punish it. Government should also empower men to care for their children – not render it financially unfeasible.
Equalising Maternity and Paternity Policy in Three Steps
We must continue to support new mothers, and any changes to these policies must ensure that mothers have the time they need to recover and bond with baby. But as the system currently stands, pregnancy and childbirth can cause women to experience unjust financial and career penalties. Time out of the workplace can impact anyone, and the physical and mental test of growing and supporting a young child is a demanding one. If women want to go back to work, they must be able to.
One way to do this is to make it easier for men to take Paternity Leave, so that they can help women care for new-born children.
Shared Parental Leave was the beginning of reform in this area. For the first time, it empowered men to take leave to care for new-born children. But it was unfinished work and, judging by the low uptake of SPL[2], not effective enough. Now, with a strong Conservative majority, we can complete the task.
There are three steps we must take to ensure men and women are treated equally upon having a child.
Firstly, men should be entitled to 52 weeks’ Paternity Leave after their child is born. Such leave should not come out of the woman’s Maternity Leave allowance (as it does in SPL). It should be a specific Paternity Leave enhancement.
Secondly, men should receive the same statutory entitlement to pay through Paternity Pay as women receive through Maternity Pay. If we do not do this, do we not signal to the nation that men are less important than women in an early child’s life?
Third, employers should be compelled to treat employees equally, regardless of sex. If an employer offers 6 months full Maternity Pay to mothers, it should offer the same to fathers. Not doing so would bar, on financial grounds, most men from taking additional Paternity Leave. In any event, isn’t it strange that Maternity Pay is one of the few areas that sex discrimination is still permitted?
With these three steps, the Conservative Government will go far to support couples who wish to jointly care for their new-born children. It will also help level the playing field between hard-working women and men. It is the right policy, from a fair government.
Note 1: For an employer who has recently implemented significant improvements in maternity and paternity policy, see Standard Life Aberdeen who has given all parents 9 months’ fully paid leave.[3]
Note 2: On top of the measures suggested in this article, the Conservative Government should give serious consideration to increasing statutory pay for both Maternity and Paternity Leave. Current statutory pay is 32% of the average weekly wage. Childbirth therefore causes an implicit and explicit negative financial impact, with minimal support from the state. In a developed liberal economy with a low birth rate, we can and should look to support new parents more.
[2] 1% of the workforce. The Independent here
[3] https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/standard-life-aberdeen-maternity-paternity-policy/
Leave a Reply