Fathers to get more paternity leave

Fathers could receive increased paternity leave under new government proposals.

The Work and Families Bill proposes extending paid maternity leave to nine months from April 2007.

However, fathers would be able to take the paid leave for the last three months of the leave period, if the mother wished to return to work.

Trade and Industry Secretary Alan Johnson said that the bill would help working parents to balance work and family responsibilities, by introducing a “ modern framework of rights and responsibilities that offers real choice and flexibility”.

He said: “Increasingly, fathers want to play a more active role in bringing up their children, so we will help fathers take time off when the mother returns to work, by introducing a new right to paternity leave.”

Mr Johnson also said that the government aimed to eventually increase paid maternity leave to a full year.

The Trades Union Congress has welcomed the proposals. General Secretary Brendan Barber said the Bill was "another significant step along the road to making work family friendly." But added, "today's measures, though very welcome, are not the end of the road. We look forward to seeing paid maternity leave extended to a year and the government needs to look more imaginatively at moves to help both mothers and fathers.”

However, business leaders have criticised the proposals. David Frost, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce said: "Employers are concerned about the unprecedented pace and extent of change and the damaging consequences this could have for the operation of their businesses.

"Small businesses now face tremendous pressures due to the likelihood of losing more key staff for longer periods of time. This could also be an administrative nightmare with employers having to cope with more paid maternity leave, more paid and unpaid paternity leave, shared leave and increased flexible working rights.”

Alan Tyrrell, FSB Employment Chairman, said: “It is a fact that 97% of businesses in the UK employ less than 20 people. Such employers will find it very difficult to put in place arrangements to hire suitably trained staff to take the place of employees who have children.

“We appreciate these measures are family-friendly, but they are not business friendly, partly because they are being introduced at some speed, leaving small employers with little time to cope with the changes.”

Liberal Democrats trade and industry spokesperson Norman Lamb warned that, in reality, only more well-off fathers were likely to take advantage of the extra unpaid leave. He said: "The government has left many questions unanswered. There is a danger that the scheme could turn into a bureaucratic nightmare. Will there be a burden on employers to check entitlement, to determine whether fathers actually care for their children, and to administer the scheme?

"We have argued for a maternity income guarantee that would give a better income for mothers and allow real choice. In addition we propose that the Government would be responsible for administering the payment, lifting a supplementary burden off business."

The Work and Families Bill will also extend the right to request flexible working hours to include carers of sick and elderly relatives from April 2007.

(KMcA/SP)