Luton North MP Sarah Owen has called for a major overhaul of the UK’s parental leave system, saying the current two-week allowance for new fathers is “not good for families, not good for the economy and not fit for modern society”.
The Equality at work: Paternity and shared parental leave report released by the Women and Equalities Committee that Ms Owen chairs recommends extending statutory paternity leave from two to six weeks paid at 90 per cent of earnings.
Currently, the UK offers one of the lowest paternity entitlements in Europe. In contrast:
- Sweden offers up to 240 days of paid leave per parent
- Germany offers 14 months to be shared between parents, with a minimum two months for each parent
- France offers 28 days of paternity leave, 25 of which are paid at a high replacement rate
- Spain now offers 16 weeks of fully paid leave for both parents
The report also proposes reforming shared parental leave, which only 2 per cent of eligible families currently use, and creating better support for the self-employed, who are often excluded entirely from paid parental schemes.
The Women and Equalities Committee has now called on the government and Chancellor Rachel Reeves to consider reforms as part of wider plans to close the gender pay gap and improve family life.
Speaking on BBC Politics Live following the release of the report, Ms Owen said: “Two weeks for parental leave is just not long enough. Like myself, I had C-section. It takes at least six weeks to recover from a C-section, and I think the parent needs to be there to support not just in terms of the baby, but also for support recovery for the mother as well.”
Citing testimonies heard during the inquiry, the Labour politician said: “We heard from loads of self-employed people that didn’t take a single day off once their baby was born. That isn’t good for a healthy society, it isn’t good for our families and it certainly isn’t good for economy either.”
The report argued the UK’s minimal two-week offer “entrenches outdated gender stereotypes” and contributes to the gender pay gap by placing disproportionate care burdens on women.
Ms Owen also pointed to successful models in the private sector, saying that some UK businesses have already adopted more equal policies with clear results.
She said: “We heard from businesses that are already offering equal parental leave, such as Aviva, for example, and the benefits that they saw in terms of staff retention, in terms of reputation, but also in culture within the business themselves, and over the long-term this could save £6.2billion because we are seeing more women coming back into the economy quicker.”
Commenting on the report itself, Ms Owen said: “It’s clear from the evidence in our committee’s report that the UK’s parental leave system is in urgent need of an overhaul to fit with the reality of working parents’ lives. This must start with longer and better paid paternity leave.
“It’s essential the Government’s proposed review addresses the system’s fundamental failings, including low statutory pay, inadequate leave periods for fathers and others, exclusion of many working parents and guardians, plus design flaws and unnecessary complexity in the Shared Parental Leave scheme.
“The UK’s parental leave system has fallen far behind most comparable countries, and we now have one of the worst statutory leave offers for fathers and other parents in the developed world. Countries which provide a substantial period of well-paid leave for all parents have on average a four-percentage point smaller gender pay gap than those that allow less than six weeks.
“Ministers must commit to meaningful reforms in the medium term, with a view to going further towards a more gender equal parental leave system. Tinkering around the edges of a broken system will let down working parents. While much-needed substantial change to our paid parental leave system will require considerable financial investment, this would be outweighed by wider societal and economic benefits.”
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