On the 20th March 2018, the Women and Equalities Committee released a report entitled “Fathers in the Workplace”. The report centres on existing family friendly rights for fathers and considers why there is still resistance in the workplace accessing some of these rights.
About the Report – What Does It Recommend?
Current fathers’ rights include paternity leave and pay, shared parental leave and flexible working applications. The report recommends that these rights are enhanced and protected to encourage fathers to access them.
Currently, paternity leave is limited to two weeks and paid at a maximum statutory allowance of £140.98 per week. For many, this reduction in income comes at just the wrong time when considering the costs of a new-born. The report recommends statutory pay be increased to a level similar to maternity leave.
Shared parental leave was a huge step forward for fathers; where a mother can forego her maternity leave and pay, and decide instead to share it with the father. However, there has been very low uptake and, although the Government are actively publicising the right, less than half of fathers interviewed were aware of it, let alone chose to exercise the right.
Seen by some as overly bureaucratic, research seems to suggest that where the right is “given up” by the mother and transferred in part to a father, there has been a reluctance to pursue the right. The report suggests an entirely separate 12-week period afforded to fathers, as a standalone right. When this was implemented in Germany, uptake soared from 3% to 33%.
Additional changes to the perceptions of work being deemed as “flexible” and suitable for flexible working arrangements are also mooted. It is hoped that flexible working should be seen by businesses as less of a concession, and more a means of attracting the right talent to the right tasks.
Should Fathers Have Paternity Based Character Protection?
One of the less considered points within the report, but one which would be very far reaching if implemented, is the possible introduction of a paternity based protected characteristic into the Equality Act 2010.
At present, sex discrimination is covered but fathers get no standalone protection arising from the birth of a child in the way that women do with pregnancy and maternity related discrimination protection. If men felt they had greater protection, it stands to reason they would feel more comfortable exercising these rights.
David Lewis, Partner and Head of Employment at Howells, was invited back onto the BBC Radio 5 Live breakfast show to share his views on the topic.
A clip of his discussions with Clare McDonnell can be found here (from 44 mins in)
The gender pay gap is a hot topic at present and the impact of childcare on that gap cannot be overlooked. Statistics show that the gap begins to widen when women reach a child bearing age and undoubtedly the years spent away from work by women caring for children impacts upon their salaries and promotion prospects.
Anything which encourages fathers to share childcare will assist in reducing this impact. Initial outlay on improving paternity benefits should then be paid back in the long run by increasing female salaries and the reduced cost of maternity benefits.
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