The Dad Shift, a campaign for better paternity leave in the UK, has launched the world’s first DadStrike on 11 June – calling for “fathers and non-birthing parents” to ask for time off to either join protests in London and Edinburgh or make a point of taking part in the school or nursery run.
The action aims to highlighting the need for paternity leave reform, with the UK’s current offering described as the worst in Europe. The protest, supported by researchers and backed by recent studies, comes ahead of an expected government review of parental leave policy in July.
A report by The Dad Shift and Shaun Davies MP revealed that just 3 percent of the UK’s £3.3 billion parental leave investment supports fathers and non-birthing parents. The movement has drawn attention to how the system fails to provide meaningful support, leaving mothers to shoulder much of the early childcare responsibility.
The strike coincides with the release of a new policy paper from the University of Bath, which proposes a more flexible and equitable approach to paternity leave.
Research underlines the need for reform
Economists Dr Joanna Clifton-Sprigg and Dr Alistair Hunt, from the University of Bath, will publish the new policy paper, which recommends six weeks of paternity leave, flexibly taken, with three weeks paid at 90 percent of wages and the remainder at the statutory rate.
Dr Clifton-Sprigg said that the current Shared Parental Leave (SPL) system, introduced with good intentions, has failed to deliver for fathers and families. “The truth is: dads want to be more involved, but the system makes it too hard and too expensive,” she said.
Dr Hunt added that six weeks of properly paid leave would be a game changer for children, parents and society. He added that reform is both fair and economically beneficial, citing evidence that the current system of two weeks’ paternity leave and the SPL framework is ineffective.
Earlier research led by Dr Clifton-Sprigg and Professor Eleonora Fichera, in collaboration with Cardiff Business School, analysed data from over 1,400 working UK fathers. The findings showed no measurable impact of the SPL system on the number of fathers taking leave or the duration of leave taken. Mothers continue to bear the bulk of early childcare responsibilities.
Professor Fichera noted that financial barriers remain a key issue. “If we want genuine shared caregiving in families, we need policies that address financial barriers,” she said. “Our findings suggest the current system is failing the very people it’s meant to support – especially mothers.”
A national conversation on modern parental leave
The upcoming protest has been timed just ahead of Father’s Day and in anticipation of the expected government review.
George Gabriel, co-founder of The Dad Shift, said, “Dads are fed up and it’s time for action. Labour is launching a review of parental leave this summer and this is their opportunity to prove they’re on the side of working families and working fathers.”
Professor Susan Milner, an expert on work and gender equality from the University of Bath, added, “Change is long overdue. We need policies that support parents equally – not just in theory, but in practice,” she said. “Dad Shift’s message resonates because it’s rooted in the everyday realities of families across the UK.”
The new policy paper, developed in collaboration with Working Families and Fatherhood Institute, is expected to be presented to government in late June.
