Police officers ‘mocked and ostracised' for paternity leave in England and Wales
Police officers have described being ostracised for taking paternity leave, as it is revealed that back-office staff in the Metropolitan police are entitled to nearly three times as much paternity pay as frontline fathers.
A freedom of information request has revealed that most serving police officers in England and Wales only take one week of paternity leave, with some describing being on 'blue lights' duty and carrying Tasers a week after the birth of their babies.
Among the 44 forces that replied to an FoI by the paternity rights campaign group the Dad Shift, 75% provided one week paternity leave at full pay, with a second week on statutory pay.
Forces were asked for their paternity leave policy, how many officers had taken paternity leave over the last three years, and how many weeks they took.
Thirty-five forces provided data on paternity leave take-up. In the 30 forces providing only one week full pay, 60% of officers returned to work after seven days. In the five forces that provided data and offered two weeks' fully paid leave, only 12% of officers went back to work after a week.
More than 50 testimonies from officers and their families raised concerns about the treatment of fathers, with officers describing a culture where involved fathers were 'mocked', 'slagged off' or 'ostracised'.
One former officer, who said the strain of his family was one of the biggest reasons he left the force, said he was 'treated very poorly' and 'slagged off behind his back' for taking two weeks' unpaid leave to care for his partner after an emergency caesarean.
'Overall the police service doesn't support fathers fairly at all,' he said. '[The] culture makes men feel like they need to be back at work asap. If you're not, you're looked down on or treated differently.'
In another example, a firearms officer was not allowed to adjust the dates of his paternity leave when his baby arrived three weeks early, meaning that on the day his wife and baby came out of hospital he did a night shift carrying a firearm.
The Met police, the largest force in England and Wales, offers civilian staff – in roles such as administration or 999 call handling – three weeks of paternity leave at full pay. However, frontline officers get one fully paid week, with the second paid at the statutory rate of £184.03 a week, a quarter of the starting salary for a Met officer.
Asked why this disparity existed, a spokesperson from the Met said the Home Office set the police pay regulations for every force and it was not something individual forces could change, unlike for civilian staff.
The Met said in a statement: 'Officers and staff have different terms and conditions, set separately. For officers, these are governed nationally via police regulations and for staff, set by the Met. Fair terms and conditions are important to everyone.'
Paternity leave for police officers is governed by police regulations, set by the Home Office, a spokesperson for the National Police Chiefs' Council said. Forces have to offer one week at full pay and one week at statutory pay for qualifying officers.
However, at least nine forces across England and Wales now offer a second week of paternity leave on full pay. British Transport Police and the Civil Nuclear constabulary give officers three weeks' leave on full pay, while Derbyshire, Greater Manchester, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Mercia and West Midlands give two weeks' full pay.
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester police said the increase in paternity pay, made last year, reflected 'the changing nature of modern families'. They added: 'It's important to us that we do our utmost to support our officers and staff as they enter their journey into parenthood.'
A survey from the Police Federation found that more than one in five officers were ready to quit the service in 2023 – up from 18% in 2022 and 12% in 2021. Of 2,654 officers who left the police between 2017 and 2024, 27% resigned before they reached pension age, with 63% saying the impact on their family life was a critical factor.
Alex Lloyd Hunter, a cofounder of the Dad Shift, urged Yvette Cooper to improve paternity pay for officers and speak to the Met commissioner to tackle its 'grossly unfair policy'.
'The home secretary has done a lot to ensure the police are doing better to protect women and girls,' he said. 'Supporting dads in the force properly, so they can be involved caregivers, is part of that same equality agenda.'
A Home Office spokesperson said police bodies made recommendations on pay, and that the government recognised that support for officers was 'vital, as a healthy and engaged police workforce will be better able to tackle crime and protect the public'.
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Daily Mail
7 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Police allowed convicted Neo-Nazi 'who groomed and radicalised British girl before she was found dead' to leave the UK
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In 2019, Rudd, then aged 14, complained to Derbyshire County Council social workers, who themselves had suspicions that she was being groomed, that Mallaburn had touched her sexually. However, when police later visited Rudd at her home address, she retracted the allegations. Just days before she took her own life, the teen told a counter-terrorism official that Mallaburn, who she described as a 'literal Nazi' was explaining to her what 'really happened' during the Second World War. Mallaburn also introduced the impressionable teenager to fellow US white supremacist Chris Cook, who provided her with clear instructions on how to make homemade bombs and weapons. In September 2020, Ms Carter reported her concerns about her daughter to anti-radicalisation programme Prevent. The inquest heard that she had been unaware of Mallaburn's influence on her young teenager. In a letter addressed to counter-terrorism police, Ms Carter said that Rudd had developed an 'unhealthy outlook on fascism' and harboured a 'massive dislike for certain races and creeds.' When the youngster was visited by local police at her school, she confirmed her interest in the extreme right and told police she had met an American 'neo-Nazi' over the online gaming platform, Discord. Classmates told school leaders that Rudd had revealed her intention to 'kill someone in school or blow up a Jewish place of worship', counsel to the inquest Edward Pleeth said. 'She said she doesn't care who she kills and nothing matters any more,' a school log shown at the hearing stated. Drawings found in her school bag included sketches of a man giving a Nazi salute. A child protection team from Derbyshire County Council later found that both Mallaburn and Cook had encouraged the young teen to 'look at violent material'. 'Suspicions of radicalisation' related to Rudd were then passed on by counter-terrorism police by MI5. On October 21 2020, just two weeks after Mallaburn had been allowed to board his flight from Heathrow, Rhianan was arrested by East Midlands counter-terror police. Bailed as a terror suspect, she was removed from school and placed in a children's home. While the charges were later dropped, Rudd's mother believed that the pressure of the investigation ultimately took its toll on her young daughter who she said should have been treated 'as a victim rather than a terrorist'. A close friend of the teen's family, Ann, had begun an affair with Mallaburn by the time Rhianan had been arrested. Having later relocated to Mexico to be with him, she told the Daily Telegraph that while he had been 'interviewed by the FBI about Rhianan and her online relationship with a man in Ohio', she firmly believed that he had 'never been charged with any race crime'. 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Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Undercover Mail investigation exposes how crooked businesses are pocketing tens of thousands of pounds by illegally using skilled worker visas to get cheap labour for barbers, convenience stores and warehouses
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During an extraordinary hour-long meeting, Joe Estibeiro, managing partner of the immigration adviser Flyover International, detailed to our undercover reporter how he makes a mockery of government rules despite his firm being officially 'approved by the Home Office'. Skilled worker visas were introduced in December 2020 to mitigate the impacts of Brexit on the labour market and supposedly attract high-quality employees to the UK. Businesses licensed by the Home Office can pay a £574 fee to the department to issue certificates of sponsorship for foreign workers seeking to come to Britain using the visas. Employers must ensure that immigration laws are properly upheld, including a minimum salary depending on the job. Bosses and employment agencies also cannot charge a fee to a work-seeker for finding them a job or pass on visa charges or other administrative costs to the migrant. But from the headquarters of the Leicester-based firm, which also has offices in Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Anand in Gujarat and works with 350 agents across India, Mr Estibeiro told how he arranges sponsorship licences for crooked businesses and then recruits staff for them – for a five-figure fee. From the headquarters of the Leicester-based firm, which also has offices in Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Anand in Gujarat and works with 350 agents across India, Mr Estibeiro (pictured) told how he arranges sponsorship licences for crooked businesses and then recruits staff for them – for a five-figure fee He told our reporter, who was posing as an Indian student wanting to stay in the UK after his study visa expires, that he could arrange a job for him shelf-stacking and running the till at convenience stores in either Peterborough or Northampton. The opportunity would cost the reporter £19,000, plus the annual health surcharge. There was also the chance to work in a role moving stock at a drinks warehouse in Yorkshire, but this was more expensive because the boss had got a 'bit greedy' after recently managing to hire some Pakistani staff, who he claimed had paid the warehouse boss £22,000 to secure similar roles, Mr Estibeiro explained. Most of the illegal fee goes to the employer, but Mr Estibeiro said he took 'a little bit of commission' of £1,500. 'So basically you pay me and then I pay the employer,' he said. 'We will handle everything. So that's all-inclusive. So including the visa – I'll do all the paperwork.' The initial £5,000 deposit to start the process could be paid by bank transfer, but not to his company otherwise the foreign worker might reveal he was charged for a job. 'We can't take it on Flyover. I'll give either my personal account [or] I'll give somebody else's, like one of my clients' personal accounts. 'See, there can't be a trail of it. Can't be a paper trail. 'That's why even when I am sponsoring someone, I will use somebody else to do it.' Further payments would need to be cash, he added. Mr Estibeiro told the reporter that for both jobs he would on paper receive an annual salary of £33,000, most of which he would have to repay to his new boss. 'Basically, because when we get a COS [certificate of sponsorship,] we have to show £33,000 per annum,' he said. Tax on this official salary would be deducted and paid to HMRC as PAYE and National Insurance, so it all appeared official. 'Everything is paid… he's gonna get a pension. He's going to get proper payslip.' After these deductions, this would mean the reporter would receive about £2,750 monthly paid into his account for the convenience store job, but he would have to hand all but £900 back. 'The owner will tell him that, OK, put it in this account, or, you know, withdraw cash and give it.' 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'What I do with my client, one month before, two months before, we start advertising on Indeed and all those job sites. 'We'll get candidates for interview. So, the worst candidates, we will record a conversation. The good ones we'll say, let's not record it. 'So then, if the Home Office does an inquiry as to why, you say I interviewed seven candidates, and if they say we need a proof, you have the proof.' He said once the worker was in place with a visa there would be no further checks from the Home Office to make sure he really was a specialist. 'They want people to come over here, because what is there in UK apart from immigration? How does UK make their money? Immigration.' Despite it being called a skilled worker visa, he said no specialist skill was required to get a certificate of sponsorship. Chuckling, Mr Estibeiro described how when he had his hair cut at a barber shop he had arranged a sponsorship licence for it was a 'disaster', apparently because the staff were actually trainees. And he explained how he had hired an overseas worker with only a high school education by claiming she was a 'senior web developer'. They tricked the Home Office by telling the worker to enrol in a short web course costing around £200 in India so the worker knew what to say when interviewed by UK immigration officials. Laughing, he said the worker was 'not a web developer', had completed only high school education and hadn't obtained a degree. He said things were even easier for migrants already in Britain hoping to switch from expiring education visas to skilled worker visas. 'The good thing is, in UK right now, Home Office is not giving interview. So once you put an application, once you get it, that's it. They don't ask you for what… That's the employer's responsibility. The Home Office is just interested in the money you're getting.' He described how his phone rings 'non-stop' from 7am until midnight. The high volume of applicants meant sponsorship licences for skilled workers have become so popular in recent years that 'everybody' was opening businesses just to make money out of the scheme – including himself. He said he had a restaurant which he opened 'only for immigration purpose'. 'So, you know, we'll get a sponsor licence. 'We'll sponsor, get their money and then tell one of them that, OK, you take over the business, sell the business to him. 'In a year, if we can make like, £30,000, £40,000. Why not?' 'This is how everybody got into this business of sponsor licence. The business was very good in 2024. A lot of people made a lot of money.' He even told a second undercover reporter at the meeting – who was posing as the Indian student's UK-based cousin – that he could organise a sponsorship licence for his fitness business so he could also charge overseas workers £20,000 for visas and jobs. Flyover International is based in a large centre a short drive from Mr Estibeiro's £300,000 four- bedroom semi-detached home in a smart suburb on the outskirts of the city. As the reporters left, he pointed across the concourse to an office of an official partner of the Home Office's UK Visas and Immigration section, where applicants to stay in the UK provide their biometrics and complete visa applications. The Home Office has launched an urgent investigation and suspended Flyover International's sponsorship licence. In the last six months of 2024, the Home Office revoked and suspended the highest total of skilled worker sponsor licences since records began in 2012. An Immigration Advice Authority spokesman told the Mail: 'We recognise the seriousness of the issue and are working closely with the Home Office to determine the most appropriate course of action.' Flyover International is owned by another man who is understood to be taking the matter seriously and investigating and says that Mr Estibeiro was not officially hired to work the UK end of the business. Mr Estibeiro denied involvement in any 'illegal or unethical' activity and said he was 'solely involved in student recruitment'. He insisted he always told anyone who inquired about certificates of sponsorship for skilled worker visas that 'we do not deal with such matters'.
Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Albanian drug dealer who illegally sneaked back into Britain weeks after being deported succeeds in remaining in the UK by judge
An Albanian drug dealer who sneaked back into Britain just weeks after being deported has succeed to remain in the UK - even after committing more crimes on his return. Stiljano Ziu has been allowed to stay in the UK despite the asylum court hearing he committed a 'flagrant' breach of immigration laws, having already been deported from the country once. Ziu was jailed for producing cannabis just months after entering Britain illegally, it was heard. He then 'took advantage of the early release scheme' by agreeing to deportation in exchange for finishing his sentence early. He then entered the UK again illegally just weeks later. During his second illegal stint in the UK, which is still ongoing, Ziu committed more drugs offences and was recently jailed for four and a half years. A crown court judge previously said of Ziu that he came to the UK 'prepared to do any activity, legal or illegal', the asylum court heard. However, after a long and complicated legal process he has won his fight to remain in the UK after the Immigration and Asylum Chamber of the Upper Tribunal ruled in his favour. Ziu won his appeal due to his marriage to a Greek woman in the UK after entering the country for the second time. The Home Office had refused to give him a residence card after his marriage. Ziu won his case after the asylum court heard he was not a 'present threat'. Ziu may still face deportation as a result of his recent drugs conviction, Upper Tribunal Judge Jonathan Perkins said. The Upper Tribunal heard Ziu first entered the UK unlawfully in 2017 or 2018 and by November 2018 was convicted of producing cannabis charges and was jailed for nine months. He was released from his prison sentence early, on the basis he agreed to be deported in December 2018. However he was already back in early 2019. 'He returned within weeks in clear breach of the deportation order', the tribunal was told. 'There can be no clearer case of abuse of immigration laws. 'He took advantage of the early release scheme and had no intention of remaining in Albania. 'He had the resources, means and contacts to return illegally.' His presence in the UK went unnoticed until December 2020 when he applied for a residence card as the spouse of a Greek woman exercising treaty rights in the UK. He had met her upon his return and married her in April 2021. 'He is still benefitting from his illegal entry and worked illegally too', it was heard. The Home Office refused Ziu's request, leading to his case at the asylum court. During court hearings it had to be determined whether the Home Office had showed that Ziu presented a 'present threat'. At one hearing in 2022, the Home Office accepted that there was 'not a present serious threat in relation to a propensity to re-offend'. At a 2023 hearing, Ziu won the first stage of his appeal. The judge in 2023 criticised Ziu's 'flagrant and serious breach of UK immigration laws' but said the Home Office had not shown he was a 'present threat' of re-offending. The decision led to the Home Office appealing it at the Upper Tribunal. Before the Upper Tribunal hearing, Ziu wrote a letter stating that in November 2024 he was jailed for four and a half years for conspiring to supply class B drugs. The offending happened between January 2020 and June 2022. At the Upper Tribunal hearing, it was ruled that the Home Office had not successfully challenged the 2023 decision that Ziu was not a risk of re-offending. But, Judge Perkins admitted 'it may be that this case has been an academic exercise' because Ziu may now face deportation due to his recent conviction. Judge Perkins said: 'Putting everything together we are satisfied that the judge [in 2023] made a decision that was open to her and gave lawful reasons. 'We therefore dismiss the Secretary of State's appeal. 'What happens next is of course a matter for the Secretary of State. 'However, [Ziu] must understand that his recent conviction has resulted in a sentence that may require his deportation from the United Kingdom and that is something the Secretary of State will consider. 'Nevertheless... we find that the Secretary of State has failed to show that the [2023] tribunal erred in law and we dismiss the Secretary of State's appeal.'
