PATERNITY LEAVE SHOULD BE MADE FINANCIALLY VIABLE

New fathers should not be barred from claiming paternity leave even if they are from “high earning” jobs

Rob Wall Head of Policy at The Chartered Management Institute said:

It is disappointing - although not surprising - to see the UK ranked in the bottom ten of a recent UNICEF study of child care and parental leave policies in developed nations.

CMI welcomes any proposal to enhance paternity leave, and hopes it is not watered down with a salary cap. Making paternity leave more financially viable will allow men to spend invaluable time bonding with their new child, and allow women the freedom to consider returning to work earlier, and allow families to re-balance family roles.

But this alone will not close the gender pay gap. If the Government is serious about addressing pay inequality then the time has come to require all companies covered by gender pay reporting rules to publish action plans setting out how the pay gap will be closed and to report annually against those plans.

Enhanced paternity leave is a component of closing the gender pay gap, but will be ineffective if it is a lone measure. If the Government is serious about addressing pay inequality then the time has come to require all companies covered by gender pay reporting rules to publish action plans setting out how the pay gap will be closed and to report annually against those plans.