Less than 2 percent of fathers in the UK have taken advantage of Shared Parental Leave (SPL) since its introduction a decade ago, according to new data from The Dad Shift.
SPL, introduced on 2 December 2013, allows mothers to share part of their leave allowance with partners. However, uptake has been minimal. In the past year, only 400 additional fathers used SPL, bringing the total to just 10,600. At this rate, The Dad Shift estimates it could take nearly 500 years for full uptake of the scheme.
Alex Lloyd Hunter, co-founder of The Dad Shift said, “490 years ago, Henry VIII was the king and still had four wives to go. Those are genuinely the time scales we’re talking about here. This is a failed policy; British families and British fathers deserve better.”
SPL Utilisation Skews Towards High Earners
Analysis reveals stark inequalities in the use of SPL. Freedom of Information requests submitted by The Dad Shift show that 60 percent of those claiming SPL are among the UK’s top 20 percent of earners. By contrast, the bottom half of households account for just 5.2 percent of government spending on SPL.
Geographical disparities are also evident. A parliamentary question by Josh Simons MP revealed £40.8 million in SPL payments were made in London, more than the combined totals for Scotland (£9.9 million), Wales (£5.9 million), Northern Ireland (£2.9 million), the North West (£15.3 million), and the North East (£4.8 million).
Campaigners have labelled the policy “elitist” and “broken” as they push for expanded paid paternity leave.
“The UK has the worst statutory paternity leave in Europe – just two weeks on less than half the minimum wage,” Lloyd Hunter added. “Shared Parental Leave was meant to help change things, but guess what – a policy that pays virtually no money, is ridiculously complex to administer, and requires men to take leave away from the mothers of their children didn’t work all that well.
“Our current system is not just broken but elitist too. More SPL is claimed in London than half the UK and 60% of it goes to the country’s top earners. Whether they’re well off or not, British dads want and deserve a meaningful chunk of properly paid time off so they can bond with their babies, be there for their partners, and get started on being decent fathers.”
Shifting Attitudes Towards Fatherhood
Polling conducted for Movember and The Dad Shift indicates a significant change in public attitudes towards paternal roles. Eighty-six percent of parents agree that fathers need better opportunities to be actively involved in childcare; additionally, 81 percent believe that a good father balances caregiving with traditional roles of providing and protecting.
With the vast majority of fathers surveyed expressed a desire to be more involved in their children’s lives, campaigners argue that the current structure and limited financial support for SPL prevent many fathers from fulfilling these aspirations.
Kirith Entwistle MP said, “As a mum, I greatly benefitted from having my husband at home when my son was born. I remember the fear and dread, and lack of confidence in leaving the house or being on my own with him the night before my husband went back to work. There are so many mothers out there right now who desperately need that support, and dads who have no choice but to go back to work.
“Shared parental leave is a farce and only an option for those who can afford it. It is clear it isn’t working and something needs to change. With all the young mums and dads in Westminster now there’s a huge amount of energy to deliver a better deal for the country.”
Call for Paternity Leave Reform
The Dad Shift is urging the government to expand statutory paternity leave as part of its upcoming review. They propose offering fathers a more substantial leave period at an affordable rate of pay, allowing for greater equality in shared caregiving responsibilities.
George Gabriel, a co-founder of The Dad Shift who was able to take Shared Parental Leave alongside a more generous paternity leave package from his employer after the birth of his daughter said, “Getting a real chunk of time off when my baby arrived made a massive difference to me and my family.”
“The time off I was able to take meant I was there in the early months when my wife was recovering from her c-section and couldn’t go up or down the stairs. It meant I was there through the awful days and nights in hospital after our daughter had a head injury. It meant I was there with the time I needed to make a start on one of the most important challenges a man can face – becoming a halfway decent dad.”
“It’s clear Shared Parental Leave hasn’t come close to papering over the cracks in a statutory policy that gives dads two weeks on virtually no money and with nothing at all for self-employed fathers. Working families deserve way better than this, and if the Labour Party want to prove they’re on folks’ side, then this forthcoming review is the opportunity to deliver.”
