The Liberal Democrats would give fathers four weeks’ extra paternity leave under manifesto plans announced at the weekend.
Fathers are currently entitled to two weeks’ paternity leave, and from April next year they will be able to “share” their partner’s leave under the new Shared Parental Leave Regulations. However, the Liberal Democrats want to go further by dedicating another four weeks exclusively to fathers, increasing their paternity leave to six weeks.
Liberal Democrat business and equalities minister Jo Swinson said: “Liberal Democrats are building a stronger economy and a fairer society where everybody has the opportunity to get on in life. Shared parental leave plays an essential part in that. It allows couples to choose how to split time off work to look after their new baby.
“Extending paternity leave is an important next step to encouraging new dads to spend more time with their child in those vital early weeks and months after birth. When parents share caring responsibilities, more equality in the workplace will follow.”
Meanwhile other people will have to cover the workload for those receiving extra time off. Large companies may have the resources to cope with this, but small businesses do no.