07-07-2025
Paternity leave: two weeks not enough to support families
I'm blessed to have just become a father again. If you have kids, you'll know it's a time filled with joy, as well as sleepless nights. But it's also brought home to me the significant problems we have in the UK with paternity leave and, in turn, the growing issue they pose for government has announced a full review of parental leave to better support families and their children. This is welcome, if overdue, news. Overdue because the creaking system is damaging companies just as much as it disadvantages mums and is a challenger business and I know how disruptive it can feel to 'lose' a team member to parental leave, especially when you're a lean organisation. But we all need to realise that the status quo is more the birth of our second child, for example, my wife wasn't allowed to do tasks like driving, or carrying our first child, for months. So, like many dads, I may be back to work but one foot is still firmly planted at home. Two weeks paternity leave is simply not enough to support your partner and baby.
When parents are forced to return to work before they're ready, they're under unfair pressure. No wonder that some step back from their roles or opt out of work altogether. And then there's the gender imbalance. Men are expected to return to work quickly and women, or primary caregivers, are left holding the baby. I have had too many brilliant female friends feeling that their career is simply no longer an option once they have kids. For brands, that means less diversity of voices and experiences in the workplace. It's a only it were as simple as individual companies changing their policies. Big corporates with deep pockets might offer enhanced leave, but the reality is that many smaller businesses can't afford to do the same. Yes, Dash offers dads a better paternity leave than the minimum, but the minimum is too low a bar. It's clear to me, now a dad of two, that businesses need better statutory of the recent 'Dad strikes', where fathers took to the streets in the UK to highlight paternity leave issues, call for at least six weeks of leave at full or near full pay. That would give families a window to adjust and would give businesses a better chance of retaining talent, maintaining diversity and properly supporting families.A report by the Centre for Progressive Policy estimates that reforming leave in this way could unlock nearly £2.7 billion for the UK economy. So businesses, which can claim back the majority of statutory pay over two weeks, should have the same rights if it's extended to six. That may be a cost, but it also represents a saving.
The government's review will have a huge amount to deal with. The women and equalities committee of MPs published an assessment a few weeks ago showing that the UK's rate of statutory parental pay is 'completely out of kilter' with the cost of living. The legal minimum maternity pay itself falls off a cliff after just six weeks, leaving parents struggling.
The huge cost of childcare, too, means it's often more expensive for a parent to return to work than to stay at home. Shared parental leave is so difficult to navigate that it puts many eligible parents off. At Dash we hired a team of lawyers to draft our shared parental leave policy. A few weeks later we had to bring them back in to tell us what it actually small, incremental steps still represent progress. And a change in legislation could drive a much-needed change in culture: for dads who still feel that taking extended leave might damage their career prospects or burden their colleagues; or those who simply don't feel it's the done thing. We need to break down these parental leave is a structural inequality with consequences for businesses on top of the immediate pain for families. The Trades Union Congress reports that over half of new parents in the UK face financial hardship during paternity leave and one in five fathers don't take it at all. We need urgent progress to help mums and dads. I'm in no doubt that this same change, if properly managed, would be a boon for parents' places of work as well.I don't think you'll find many people who'd disagree with this: when employees feel supported in their family life, they're more likely to stay loyal, perform better and build longer careers with you. As a nation we should look to level the playing field for families and businesses when it comes to parental leave. Now the government has a chance to start making this a Wright is co-founder and chief executive of Dash Water, a £35 million-turnover healthy soft drink brand sold across 25 countries
