Press Release

Government backs down on sexist maternity leave

Families Need Fathers today welcomed, with reservations, the impending government announcement about the increase in paternity leave.

“The government has changed its stance. This is in response, we think, to representations made to them by ourselves and others that their original proposals would be struck down legally as discriminatory by sex,” observed Families Need Fathers Chair John Baker. “Between 150,000 and 200,000 paternal couples separate each year, leaving many fathers fighting to remain an important source of support and care for their children, and Families Need Fathers continues to believe that it is the gender bias that underpins current policy and legislation relating to parenting that enables this to happen.”

The original proposals were that mothers would have their leave entitlement increased first to nine months and then to a year. Mothers could, if they wished, transfer part of their entitlement to the father but there was no other provision planned for fathers. This proposed sexist basis of the law would have worsened sex discrimination in employment against women of the relevant ages and would have sent the social signal that male parents are marginal.

The view of Families Need Fathers is that there are two phases in maternity leave. The first is for the recovery of the mother and to provide for breastfeeding. This should be accompanied by paternity leave, for the father to support mother and baby when both are fragile and need support.

The second phase is to provide a carer for the baby. It is sex discrimination, and will have other undesirable social effects, if only the mother is allowed to provide this care. The rights of both parents in this second phase should be equal. The government should rename this second phase ‘baby care leave’, offer it to parents equally and provide pay for it so that families on average or below-average incomes can afford to take the leave and care for their babies properly.

The proposed government changes reflect the demand of the first phase. Fathers are to be given six months leave. It should of course be equal, but this is still progress. It also needs to be paid, otherwise only prosperous parents in stable jobs will be able to take unpaid leave, leaving poorer families socially disadvantaged.

“There is an important additional demand on which Families Need Fathers awaits news, and that is that both parents have a right to reduce their hours following a birth. The goal for us is that both parents work equally for the same pay before the birth, and then after this they both reduce their hours and care for the baby equally. This is far more representative of the lives of modern couples,” added John Baker.