Campaigners protest outside Holyrood demanding better paternity leave
'The Dad Strike', organised jointly by charities The Dad Shift and Scottish-based Dads Rock, is calling for the UK to bring its paternal leave laws in line with comparable countries.
It comes after a parliamentary report published yesterday called the UK's paternal leave system 'one of the worst in the developed world'. Under the current system, fathers are entitled to two weeks of paid leave, with those eligible receiving £187.18 a week or 90% of their average earnings, whichever is lower.
Thomas Lynch, chief executive of Dads Rock, said there is 'a huge disparity' in how people can access paternal leave in the UK.
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'There's a whole range of families who are getting next to nothing [in paternal leave] and we know that ultimately that's not good for the child, relationships, or mental health,' he said.
Lynch added: 'We believe that small change could make a huge amount of difference to families and get them on the right foot to begin with as opposed to the pressure that you feel at the moment to return to work or to go back to work.'
(Image: NQ)
Attending the protest with his baby daughter was César, from Spain. The country boasts one of the most impressive paternity leave systems, where all parents are guaranteed sixteen weeks of uninterrupted, full-paid leave.
He has lived in Scotland for ten years and had to go through the UK's parental leave system when his daughter was born. Comparing his experience with that of friends and family in Spain, he found the UK system 'unfair'.
César said: 'My wife had a C-section. That's a major intervention and the recovery time is six weeks.'
'After two weeks, I had to go back to work for five days. Everything after that was covered by my holiday allowance. Our extended family are in Spain, so it gets really difficult.'
Also present at the protest was Scottish Greens MSP Mark Ruskell, who called the current system 'completely unsustainable'.
'It's not just unfair on dads but on their partners as well. It is really outdated, and we need to be extending paternal leave to way beyond two weeks.'
While the matter of paternal leave can ultimately only be changed by Westminster, Ruskell believed the Scottish government could 'set a positive example' by changing paternity leave rules for employees in bodies such as the Scottish Parliament, where Ruskell says he has been asking for better paternity leave for his parliamentary staff.
(Image: NQ)
The UK government is carrying out a review, which is due before mid-July, and would look at all current parental leave entitlements.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'While employment legislation - including maternity and paternity rights - is reserved to the UK Parliament, the Scottish Government continue to champion and support fair work practices.
'Scottish Ministers have called on the UK Government to enhance current paternal leave and pay provision as part of its wider Make Work Pay reforms and will continue to do so as the relevant legislation is developed.'
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