Latest news with #paternityLeave
The Guardian
9 hours ago
- General
- The Guardian
‘Dad strikes' in London and Edinburgh demand better paternity leave
Hundreds of fathers took to the streets of London and Edinburgh on Wednesday to demand better paternity leave, in a protest that was billed as the world's first dad strike. They came with babies in papooses and pushchairs, as they brandished placards and dad jokes to call for an overhaul of the meanest paternity leave system in Europe. One of the signs outside the Department for Business and Trade in Admiralty Place read: 'The worst dad joke: two weeks paternity leave!' They chanted nursery rhymes adapted for the occasion. 'Twinkle, twinkle, little babe, Daddy's leave is not well paid,' went one. 'The dads on the bus want time at home,' they sang in another. A washing line was rigged up, pegged with coloured baby clothes spelling out 'two weeks is not enough'. George Gabriel, from the Dad Shift, the campaign that organised the protest, said: 'We draw inspiration from women in Iceland who ran the world's first women's strike back in the 70s, when they stopped doing domestic work. As a result, Iceland has got the world's best gender equality legislation.' He added: 'But we're not asking for time off, we're asking for time on. We're downing tools at work so that we can spend time with our families. 'At the very least we want to see six weeks of paternity leave at regular pay. That was recommended by the women and equalities committee on Tuesday. It should be a basic minimum – the average across Europe is eight weeks. The UK paternity leave is lowest in Europe, and 40th out of 43 developed countries.' The group says that better paternity leave would help close the gender pay gap by helping families share childcare and thereby make it less likely for new mothers to take career breaks or go part-time. Gabriel, an IT consultant who is taking four months of paternity leave, also cited a new longitudinal study that found affectionate relationships between fathers and their sons reduced the risk of domestic violence. He said: 'There's a lot of pressure on fathers to protect and provide, but the research shows the most important thing you can provide your kids with is your presence. The most important way to protect our boys is to be active, healthy role models in their lives day to day.' The prospect of a dad strike was greeted with some scepticism by those who are wary about public money funding fathers. Gabriel says: 'We have had some people who accuse us of being a bunch of woke dads from east London. But the polling shows 90% of fathers these days want to be an active, more active, part of their children's lives.' Duncan Dragonetti, from Wiltshire, arrived at the rally after changing his daughter Thomasin's nappy in St James's Park. Despite the parental chores, he said he had a 'great time' spending the last four months with his daughter. He disputes the claim that only middle-class families would benefit from better paternity pay, having witnessing the benefits of Sweden's generous system while working for Spotify. 'In Sweden, you get 480 days between both parents over 10 years. The dads have to take 90 days or they lose them, so everyone takes it and the equality in the workforce is far more balanced.' He added: 'Most modern fathers are looking to be closer to their children and want to spend their time with them.' Richard Odufisan, who works at a construction company, came to the protest with his three-year-old son Ewa asleep in his pushchair. He says the real parenting only begins after the two-week statutory period, and that the rate should be much higher. He said: 'The current rate is less than 50% of the national living wage. If you were taking on parenting as a job, legally you can't pay some one that low. Increasing would create an incentive for fathers, particularly those on lower salaries, to take parental leave.' Sophie Barnett was one of number of new mothers who was taking part in the protest. She came with her nine-month-old daughter Penny and her husband, James, who was allowed only two weeks of paternity leave. She said: 'You have to parent as a team, but after two weeks that team gets torn apart at a really crucial time for the baby – they don't sleep through the night – they have to wake up every three hours to eat. James had go back to work running on empty. It was really disruptive for the whole household.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez placed on paternity list
NEW YORK (AP) — Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez was placed on the paternity list Tuesday before New York opened a three-game series against the Washington Nationals. Luis Torrens was set to start in place of Alvarez, who is batting .255 with two home runs, 10 RBIs and a .676 OPS in 29 games. He was activated April 25 after beginning the season on the injured list with a hamate fracture in his left hand. Advertisement The 23-year-old Alvarez is coming off one of his best games of the year Sunday at Coors Field, where he went 3 for 5 with two RBIs and a 450-foot homer to straightaway center field in a 13-5 victory over the major league-worst Colorado Rockies. Third-string catcher Hayden Senger was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to fill Alvarez's roster spot. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Alvarez was still at the hospital Tuesday afternoon waiting for the birth of his child, so the team wasn't sure when he'll return to the lineup. New York also added right-hander Justin Garza to the bullpen after selecting his contract Monday from Syracuse. Garza was acquired Saturday from the San Francisco Giants for cash. He was looking to make his first major league appearance since July 2023 with Boston against the Mets. Advertisement The 5-foot-10 Garza was 1-2 with a 6.11 ERA and six saves in 19 relief appearances for Triple-A Sacramento this season. He struck out 20 and walked six in 17 2/3 innings. 'Good arm, throws strikes,' Mendoza said. 'Mid-to-upper 90s (mph) fastball. He's got a cutter. Competes. So, I'm interested to watch him pitch.' Left-hander Brandon Waddell was optioned to Syracuse after Sunday's game. New York also signed outfielder Travis Jankowski to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A. A strong defender, Jankowski had a .575 OPS in 21 games combined with the Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay Rays this season. He played 43 games for the Mets in 2022. New York began the day with the best record in the National League at 42-24. ___ AP MLB: Mike Fitzpatrick, The Associated Press
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
UK leave for new fathers among ‘worst in developed world', MPs say
A House of Commons committee report has warned that the UK has one of the worst statutory leave offers for fathers and other parents in the developed world. The committee is urging the government to amend the Employment Rights Bill to legislate for a day-one right to paid leave, or commit to considering this change within its review. The report recommends raising paternity pay to the level of maternity pay in the first six weeks, which is 90 per cent of average earnings. The committee says the UK's rate of statutory parental pay is out of sync with the cost of living and is far below rates in most comparable countries. The report also says the lack of provision for self-employed fathers is deeply unfair. UK has one of 'worst statutory leave offers for fathers in developed world'
BBC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Paternity leave in UK is outdated and unequal, say MPs
The UK's statutory parental leave system is "one of the worst in the developed world" and has "fundamental flaws", a group of cross-party MPs has said.A report published today by the Women and Equalities Committee said paternity leave rules "entrench outdated gender stereotypes". It added that "bold" action is needed, but warned any changes would require significant investment.A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said the government is carrying out a review to see how it best can support working families. Introduced in 2003, statutory paternity leave allows most new fathers and second parents in the UK to take up to two weeks off applies to all partners, regardless of gender, after the birth, surrogacy or adoption of a eligible receive £187.18 a week or 90% of their average earnings, whichever is works out as less than 50% of the National Living Wage and fathers are ineligible for statutory paternity leave if they are self-employed or earn less than £123 a week. The report says this is "completely out of kilter with the cost of living" and suggests the government should consider increasing paternity pay to 90% or more and paternity leave to six weeks in a phased recommends both aspects should be done during this how paternity leave has not changed noticeably since its introduction more than two decades ago, the report says: "We now have one of the worst statutory leave offers for fathers and other parents in the developed world."In Spain, new dads can take 16 weeks off work at full rules introduced in France in 2021 mean working dads can now spend 28 days at home while being in Sweden are entitled to 480 days of paid parental leave, with 90 days reserved for fathers. As part of Your Voice, Your BBC News we are covering the stories that matter most to you and several dads have been in touch about paternity Yeates, from Haverhill, Suffolk, says it was "horrible" having to return to work just two weeks after his son, Luca, was born in September he says the birth of his son was "the happiest moment of my life", he soon felt as though he was leaving his partner "in the lurch"."There would be times when my partner was struggling and I'd have to leave to go to work," he said."I felt like I was letting her down and letting my son down."James works for the NHS, who topped up his statutory paternity pay to 100% of his usual salary, but feels as though he was prevented from being "a more present parent".The WEC report also looked at shared parental leave, which was introduced in 2014 and allows parents to share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay after the birth or adoption of a the review found many families considered it "unnecessarily complex" and "burdensome".It is used in fewer than 2% of all births and a government review from 2023 suggests almost half (45%) of all dads were not even aware shared parental leave was an report has been released on the eve of the world's first dad of fathers are expected to picket outside the Department for Business and Trade in London on Wednesday to call for an overhaul of the UK's parental leave policies. New research by The Dad Shift and Shaun Davies MP suggests that just 3% of money spent on parental leave in the UK supports fathers and non-birthing provided by employers to HMRC shows that £3.3bn was spent on statutory maternity pay in 2023/ the same period, £69m was spent on paternity pay and £34.4m statutory shared parental Gabriel, co-founder of the Dad Shift, said paternity leave laws mean dads often have to go back to work before their two-week paternity leave ends."The pie is small and the crumbs left for dads and non-birthing parents are honestly pretty pitiful," he Jones, chief executive of the Fatherhood Institute, said she welcomed many of the findings of the report, but said "families shouldn't have to wait until the next Parliament for this to come in".The government said its forthcoming review, which is due before mid-July, would look at all current parental leave entitlements.A spokesperson added it is already in the process of ensuring dads no longer need to be employed for 26 weeks to be entitled to paternity leave."This government is committed to making sure parents receive the best possible support to balance their work and home lives," they said. Additional reporting from George Walker.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
UK has one of ‘worst statutory leave offers for fathers in developed world'
The UK has one of the 'worst statutory leave offers for fathers and other parents in the developed world', the chairwoman of the Women and Equalities Committee has warned. In a new report, the House of Commons committee said a maximum of two weeks' paternity leave is 'completely out of step with how most couples want to share their parenting responsibilities' and 'entrenches outdated gender stereotypes about caring'. The committee has urged the Government to either amend the Employment Rights Bill to legislate for a day one right to paid leave or commit to 'considering this vital change within its review' in consultation with employers. It has also called on the Government to consider raising paternity pay to the level of maternity pay in the first six weeks – 90% of average earnings. The paternity and shared parental leave report by the committee said working parents 'will be let down by a review that leads only to tinkering around the edges of the system'. Chairwoman of the Women and Equalities Committee Sarah Owen said the UK's parental leave system was in 'urgent need of an overhaul to fit with the reality of working parents' lives'. The Labour MP for Luton North said reform 'must start with longer and better paid paternity leave'. Ms Owen said: '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.' The Labour MP added: '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.' The report states that the UK's rate of statutory parental pay is 'completely out of kilter with the cost of living, has not kept pace with inflation and is far below rates in most comparable countries'. It recommends phased introduction of increases to statutory pay across the system to bring rates for all working parents up to 80% or more of average earnings or the real Living Wage. The lack of provision for self-employed fathers is 'deeply unfair', the report adds. The committee recommends that the Government consider options for providing statutory paid leave for all self-employed working fathers as part of its review of the parental leave system, including introducing a paternity allowance for self-employed fathers and other parents, similar to maternity allowance. The report states that the shared parental leave system is 'extremely difficult for most parents and their employers to understand'. It said a forthcoming review must examine the function and necessity of eligibility rules, with a view to 'simplifying or removing the employment status, time in service and earnings criteria'. The committee said the review should examine approaches taken in overseas systems, including the German 'partnership bonus' and Portugal's 'sharing bonus', which provide additional paid leave to couples in which both parents take a substantial portion of leave while the other returns to paid work.
