The Women and Equalities Select Committee (the “Committee”) has recently called for reforms to paternity and parental leave through their ‘Equality at work: Paternity and Shared Parental Leave” report dated 10 June 2025 (the “Report”), which argues that the current system discourages fathers from using their paternity entitlements, reinforces gender inequality, and fails to meet the needs of modern families.
Under existing laws, fathers are entitled to two weeks of paternity leave at statutory pay, which amounts to £187.18 per week or 90% of their earnings, whichever is lower. In contrast, mothers can take up to 52 weeks of maternity leave, with six weeks paid at 90% of their average earnings followed by 33 weeks of statutory pay. Although shared parental leave exists, which allows couples to divide their time, uptake remains low, standing at just 5% of eligible fathers.
The Committee argues that significant reform is necessary to create a fairer, more accessible system that supports both parents equally:
1. The Need for a Full Review of Parental Leave
The Committee flags that the current system is based on outdated gender norms which do not reflect the way modern families divide childcare responsibilities. Successive governments have made adjustments over the years, but none have tackled the system’s fundamental structural weaknesses.
The Reports also flags the low uptake of shared parental leave as an example that the existing model is ineffective. The Committee urges the Government to conduct a full-scale review of this policy area, rather than continue to rely on minor fixes. It also encourages the Government to seek out examples of best practice across the world to guide policy creation.
2. Increasing Statutory Paternity Pay
In recent years, statutory maternity and paternity pay have failed to keep pace with inflation and now fall significantly behind the real Living Wage (they are less than half the Living Wage). This discourages fathers from taking any form of parental leave as they opt to return to work sooner, which then further reinforces traditional – and outdated – gender roles in childcare.
The Report also flags that low-income workers suffer the most, as financial constraints often force them to forgo time off despite the need for parental support. To remedy this, statutory paternity pay should match maternity pay for the first six weeks, to provide fathers with the same financial safety net. The Reports also puts forward that in the longer term, the Government should consider a general increase in statutory pay closer to 80% of average earnings or to align this with the real Living Wage.
3. Extending Paternity Leave
The Committee argues that two weeks of paternity leave is completely insufficient to allow fathers an equal role caring for their newborns. Despite being one of the first countries to introduce paternity leave in 2003, the UK now lags behind most developed nations in its paternity leave offering. The Report suggests that the Government set out a pathway to increasing paid paternity leave to six weeks, and with this, fathers should be given maximum flexibility to take leave in separate blocks during the first year after a baby’s birth.
When looking at some of the barriers to fathers taking paternity leave, it was found that workplace stigma and outdated ideas on gender roles still unfortunately continue to play a role, thereby reinforcing a further uneven division of parenting responsibilities. To encourage uptake, the Committee suggests awareness campaigns should be launched to inform fathers of their rights and that we must normalise the idea of men taking paternity leave. At the same time, stronger legal protection against possible paternity discrimination should be introduced to prevent fathers from facing career setbacks simply for exercising their leave entitlements.
4. Reforming Shared Parental Leave
Although shared parental leave allows fathers to take additional time off to bond with their babies, the system is complex and difficult to navigate. Many parents and employers struggle to understand the eligibility criteria, which combine requirements related to minimum weekly earnings, employment status and length of service.
As such, the Report sets out that the process must be streamlined and the eligibility criteria need to be simplified, so that it is available to a wider spread of families. Further, raising awareness amongst employers through communication campaigns, template policies on shared parental leave and training toolkits for HR teams could foster increased understanding and participation.
The Committee also suggests looking internationally for inspiration on how to increase uptake. One example they point to is Portugal’s “sharing bonus,” which provides a fully compensated additional month of leave for fathers who take at least four weeks from the mother’s maternity allowance so she can return to work.
5. Extending Access to Paid Leave
The Committee discusses some frequently forgotten groups in this policy area, such as “kinship carers”. These are close family and friends who step in to support in care responsibilities, often due to some form of family crisis, such as illness or death. Even though they play a substantial role in UK caregiving for young children, they receive no statutory leave entitlements.
The Report goes on to discuss the fact that single parents also face unequal leave allocations. Despite taking on full childcare responsibilities alone, they receive no additional support. In a similar vein, parents of twins, triplets or multiple births who often experience increased financial, physical and emotional stress do not receive any improved paid leave package.
To combat the difficulties faced by these often-forgotten groups, the Committee suggests the Government introduces statutory leave for kinship carers, similar to leave under adoption and surrogacy policies. Single parents should also be given the opportunity to transfer part of their entitled leave to specific individuals that assist with caregiving. For parents of multiple births, the Government recommends increased financial aid to help ease the unique and difficult challenges they face.
Final Thoughts
The Committee floats interesting and thought-provoking ideas in the Report. Clearly, they believe that real and genuine change is necessary to support fathers in taking parental leave without hardship to reduce gender inequalities.
The Government has itself acknowledged that the “current parental leave system does not support working parents” and has committed to conduct a full review of the parental leave system as the first stage of longer-term reform. The review will hopefully be launched shortly and will take into account the Committee’s recommendations in considering how to reform the current system.
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