Men voice support for dads’ time off

The Mori poll, commissioned by recruitment company Adecco, questioned more than 500 men in full-time work across the country aged between 20 and 50.

Eighty-one per cent of those questioned approve of the Parental Leave regulations giving fathers up to three months of unpaid leave for children up to the age of five.

Even single men without families would not think less of a colleague who took parental leave, with a total of nine in 10 in agreement with the entitlement.

Support is particularly strong among young men with 90 per cent aged 20 to 29 backing the right and supporting new fathers like Tony Blair who took paternity leave following the birth of his son Leo, but has yet to decide whether to take parental leave.

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Men in 47-year-old Blair’s age bracket also gave strong backing with 70 per cent of 20 to 50-year-olds supporting the new rights for fathers. Only four in every 100 men are opposed to fathers taking the leave.

Adecco chief executive officer Richard Martin said, “It would appear that the new man is alive and well and striving to gain a better work-life balance. Employers must recognise this and look for ways to embrace it within their business as failure to do so may impact on long-term staff retention.”