Equal Parental Leave for Fathers: Reform UK statutory Paternity leave Policies

[HennioLima]

We want the Government to introduce equal statutory parental leave for fathers, matching statutory maternity leave duration. We think this would ensure fathers can fully support their partners during recovery, bond with their children, and promote equality in caregiving and workplace rights.

We think current statutory paternity leave of two weeks is inadequate, especially when partners require longer recovery periods, such as after Caesarean sections. Fathers play a key role in caregiving and household responsibilities but we feel have to return to work prematurely, which may create emotional and financial strain. We think equal parental leave would promote family well-being, reduce gender inequality, and ensure fathers can bond with their children and support their partners effectively.

Please sign this petition: 🤗

Equal Parental Leave for Fathers: Reform UK statutory Paternity leave Policies

I had twins 16 months after having my DS. My midwives never said anything past the standard ‘you’ll have your hands full’.

I'm not quite understanding the negative reactions to this post, I am currently 32 weeks and would love my husband to be able to have more time off with me so we can both bond with the baby together and share the load where we can. I can't see how extra time together could be seen as a bad thing?

What a ridiculous petition. Why do you think both parents need the right to a year off work?! I do think men should have the right to longer than 2 weeks, 6 weeks at 90% to match women's legal minimum would be reasonable but why do you think babies need two parents on paid leave from work at the same time? Sharing parental leave is a good thing and more men should take the opportunity if they can afford it and the mother wants it too, but they already have that right.

You think you should both have the right to paid time off for 9 months? At the same time? That's an awful lot of money being paid to two people to care for one baby.

The title is spurious, I thought it was to do with Reform UK. No this would be a very bad idea.

Men don’t want this.

Barely any men have taken up shared parental leave.

It also puts women experiencing DV at risk.

I’ve got a feeling that the men behind this don’t give a shit about babies they’re just sour because they think women are having a blast of a time on maternity leave and don’t like women having what they don’t have

I think that men should be given the option to have more than two weeks without using annual leave, yes. Two weeks is barely anything and it would be extremely positive to have my husband around for longer if he was able. I'm not sure the full 9 months is the answer, but I don't think that opening up the conversation about having greater than 2 weeks is a negative thing.

Wouldn’t two lots of SMP be about £1500 a month?

Maybe not 12m, but there’s more to do with a baby than just feed it. The majority of women bottle feed so that can easily be split, and even if they don’t it’s not the only thing to do with a baby (we managed!). I was lucky and had an easy section. That meant I was pretty much back to normal in a couple of weeks. My husband shared parental leave and took a few months off together and then he had sole care for 3m when I went back full time at 9m. It was brilliant, he learnt how to solely care for the baby like I did, packing bags, cooking, feeding, shopping, learnt how hard it is and how great it is. We were lucky and could afford that, but many can’t.

If both men and women got 6m full pay use it or lose it, then the option to share 6m on statutory then it would give people so many more options. Maybe stop the pressure on women being the some career as we see in here. Many companies have started to do this.

The “bad thing” about this proposal is cost. It’s inflationary and anti growth. The idea that business can afford all of this is for the birds. Yes, some giant corporations might suck it up but resentment from older employees and covering lengthy absence is a huge cost to be managed. Public sector would just spend more and do less. Do we want all
the younger male doctors taking a year off? What about male teachers? In shortage subjects? That will help with educational goals won’t it!? It’s financial and societal suicide.

The reason it’s not taken by men is harm to careers. Women lose out on promotion and now men are being asked to do the same. Most men don’t want it and families cannot afford the consequences. Also what about the millions of self employed? Who keeps their staff in work and who pays the wages in these companies? When I had dc, my DH employed 70 people. He got the work for them. Not at work, no business. It’s a recipe for a divided nation. A few benefit and are replaceable. Others simply cannot take time off and companies won’t want the cost. I don’t blame them.

I don't agree, it's way too much.

Parents' can share maternity leave.

Parents can take upto 4 weeks parental leave per year (very few do).

The impact this proposal would have on business is not to be ignored. They've already had a hammering with NI.

Part of the reason for the lack of take up of Shared Parental Leave is it’s a logistical nightmare to actually arrange.

However I agree that the primary reason is that men (and women) don’t actually want to do it.

Thank you for the varied perspectives and engaging discussion! I appreciate the opportunity to clarify my proposal and the rationale behind it.
1. Equal leave isn’t about identical experiences:
It's true that fathers do not physically give birth or breastfeed, but equality in parental leave recognizes both parents' roles in bonding with their child and providing support. Recovery aside, long parental leave for mothers also enables them to care for their newborns, build bonds, and adapt to parenthood, tasks fathers are equally capable of sharing. In countries like Norway, policies that balance parental leave have shown significant benefits in family dynamics and gender equality.
2. On the suggestion for shorter durations:
Many agree two weeks is too short; some suggest "use-it-or-lose-it" schemes with shorter periods, like one to three months. While I see the merit of such compromises, my position is that equal leave provides fathers a real chance to deeply engage in childcare. Policies granting shorter leave perpetuate the idea that fathers’ roles are secondary or less necessary after birth.
3. Concerns about economic strain:
I acknowledge the financial implications for businesses, parents, and employers. My proposal also calls for government involvement to provide subsidized support for businesses, as has been done successfully in countries with progressive parental policies.
4. On bonding and fairness:
Policies like Norway’s showcase how shared leave improves bonding for both parents, balances workplace dynamics, and ensures fathers take an active caregiving role. It’s less about pitting one parent against another and more about granting families options based on their unique needs.
5. Employer concerns:
The idea that this would make women more employable assumes that fathers won’t take full leave if it’s offered. Evidence from countries with generous paternal leave options disproves this assumption over time.
6. On personal dynamics (e.g., driven mad by both parents at home):
Shared parental leave can be flexible, with families structuring their time to alternate months or work part-time as seen in Norway. My proposal doesn’t mandate 12 months simultaneously for both parents but allows families the choice to adapt to their circumstances.
Thank you for contributing your views, and I look forward to more constructive dialogue. Policies evolve best when informed by many voices!
You can use and adapt this framework for responses to individual comments as you continue. Let me know if you need specific tweaks for more comments.

@HennioLima i think you’ve just outed yourself as AI or at least using it for responses.

No, I won't be signing.
Two weeks increased to three seems reasonable but not equal to Parental Leave for women.
I have no problem with the mother of their child being able to allocate up to half their six months leave to the other parent of their child, thus, the total leave per child is unchanged..
I have no problem with the full leave allowance per child being available until the child turns two, for flexibility reasons.
I also like the idea of examining whether an amount of childcare expentiture can be tax deductable, even if the child carer is a parent.

The economy needs to have some parents at work to pay taxes to fund fair Parental Leave.

Yes I’ve had multiple children so like most posters I am aware that there’s more to caring for a child than feeding it (WTF!). The impact of lactating is not “nothing” and while you can buy formula to replace breastmilk that isn’t what everyone chooses to do and minimising the physical reality of bfings impact on a woman seems rather ignorant.

Are babies better off swapping primary carers as infants? My understanding was it was better for them to have one primary carer, better for them to bf and that it took at least a year for women's bodies to recover from pregnancy, which is the premise for maternity leave. I’m not sure there are the same drivers for paternity leave at all.

I'm just trying to make a change, if you would like to support then do so, if not I respect your wishes and feelings... I know that if these policies were reviewed and changed I would give my partner more support with our children... I had to return back to work after two weeks when her recovery time was six weeks minimum, she couldn't drive, pickup my other child, do heavy lifting and needed help with getting on and off the bed etc. So all to say this petition is being brought forth help fathers and mothers that may wish to enjoy of this change... I want change I hope you too, because I would love to spend more time supporting my family...

I mean at least make an effort rather than resort to AI..

FFS. Ai wankers.

Yep. Definitely sounds like a bot

@HennioLima It’s all about spending other peoples money. Government or employers. At the moment it’s not acceptable to propose big changes as Angela Rayner might find out.

The petition doesn't actually mention pay, just duration. I think fathers should be able to take more time off to care for their children, and that it would be a good thing if this were normalised. They currently can actually add 4 weeks of unpaid parental leave onto their 2 weeks of paternity leave as a statutory right, but most don't, partly because it's unpaid, and partly because it's not well publicised. So what's really needed is a longer period of paid paternity leave rather than (or as well as?) a longer duration. re. the latter, I'd have no problem with men being entitled to take 12 months off and knowing they'd still have a job to go back to. But I doubt many would actually do it, as most families would not be able to handle the drop in earnings, especially in a context where the male partner is still often the higher earner.

You're absolutely right, I was half asleep 🤣😁 still not enough for most new parents to live off.

🤣
Yeah I agree but a lot better than £300 odd haha!