UK’s Parental Leave Is ‘Embarrassing’. What Needs To Change?

For years, the UK’s parental leave system has been criticised by parents and campaign groups for being too rigid and out of touch with the way modern families operate.

But it looks like change is finally on the horizon. The outcome of a government review into parental leave is due to be revealed later this year.

While we’re still a way off knowing exactly what is planned, there are some key amendments parents and charities are hoping to see in order to finally bring the UK’s parental leave system into the 21st century.

Here’s hoping they won’t be disappointed.

Under the current rules, new mums are entitled to 90% of their average weekly earnings for the first six weeks of maternity leave. They are then able to access £187.18 or 90% of their average weekly earnings (whichever is lower) for the next 33 weeks.

This is paid at 43% less than the national living wage, which means that many mums can’t afford to take the leave they want to take.

Dads, meanwhile, are entitled to a measly two weeks’ paternity pay, which is currently the worst in Europe. There is an option of shared parental leave, but it’s complex, and the amount given is so low that in practice less than 5% of people use it.

Rachel Grocott, CEO of Pregnant Then Screwed and mum to a seven- and 11-year-old, wants to see paid maternity leave increased – “just six weeks paid properly is insulting,” she said.

“Most mums rely on statutory maternity pay, but that’s just too low – we know it causes huge stress and financial hardship, pushing too many families into the impossible choice between the leave they need, and making ends meet.”

George Gabriel, co-founder of The Dad Shift and father of two children under the age of three, believes dads need to be given more time to support their families.

“The UK has the worst paternity leave in Europe, and it’s screwing over working dads and their families,” he said.

“Any review that doesn’t start by changing that will have been a failure – fathers and other non-birthing parents deserve at least six weeks off at a rate they can afford to take, and all the evidence is that this will be good for mums and babies too.”

The Fatherhood Institute’s Dr Jeremy Davies, who has a 26-year-old son, has been campaigning for better paternity leave for years. He agrees that fathers should have six weeks’ well-paid leave in their baby’s first year “as a minimum”.

“This would edge us closer towards a gender-equal system and bring huge benefits to mothers and babies, dads themselves and around £13 billion per year of economic benefits,” he added.

The current entitlement doesn’t cater to modern families and forces mums to take the primary caregiving role, which has a domino effect on continued inequality in the workplace and at home.

Author, presenter and campaigner Anna Whitehouse, aka Mother Pukka, said: “Times have changed, women left the kitchen a long time ago and yet we’re still the only ones being set up to care for our children.

“Parents come in all different shapes and sizes, and dads are far from the hapless Daddy Pig representation – they actually want to spend time with their kids and to share the parenting load.”

Joeli Brearley, who has two children aged 10 and 12, has tirelessly called for change and says parental leave in the UK is “a national embarrassment”.

“At the moment, we’re stacking all parental leave onto the shoulders of mothers, and expecting gender equality to happen as if by magic – it’s bonkers,” she said.

“We need to level up leave and also give it to parents who currently don’t fit the government’s mould: mums, dads, partners, self-employed parents and kinship carers.”

Campaigners want to see paid leave extended to all parents, with the same entitlement offered to all.

There have also been calls for an option so that single parents can nominate a ‘caring partner’ – such as a grandparent or other relative who would be eligible for the equivalent paternity leave entitlements – so they can feel supported to return to work.

Currently, single mothers on maternity leave can be hit by the benefit cap, while single fathers who become sole carers in their child’s first year have no right to leave beyond two weeks of paternity leave.

Ruth Talbot, founder of Single Parent Rights and a mum of three children, said single parents’ needs must be taken into account.

“A fair system isn’t just one that pays better; it’s one that reflects the realities of single parenthood,” she said. “This review is the government’s chance to reset the system and ensure single-parent families are no longer treated as an afterthought, but as equal families with equal rights.”

Another key talking point for campaigners is kinship care. People who have taken on the care of children of family members or close friends, called kinship carers, get no statutory entitlement to paid leave at all.

This means, despite often caring for toddlers and babies unexpectedly, they are expected to return to work the next day.

Rhiannon Clapperton, co-director of policy and communications at Kinship, said this often forces kinship carers out of work, with research showing that nearly half (45%) lose their jobs or careers when they take on the care of a child that is unable to live with their parents.

“Instead of supporting families who are keeping children out of the care system, they’re being pushed into financial hardship and often onto benefits because they can’t stay in their job. It just isn’t right,” she said.

“We want the government to remove the exclusions kinship carers currently face and deliver a new right to statutory pay and leave which provides kinship families with the support they need and deserve.”

There are high hopes that the changes will address many of these issues by extending the initial higher-paid leave for women and offering a longer, better-paid version of paternity leave, as well as supporting all kinds of parents and caregivers to look after their children in those early days.

Lee Chambers, CEO at gender equity consultancy Male Allies UK and father of three children aged 13, 11 and two, added: “Men care, they really do – they want to be caregivers. Giving all men access to caregiving and space to bond with their child and support the mother benefits everyone.

“If we make parental leave more accessible, we’re investing in the next generation, reducing barriers to a more equal workplace and allowing men to have the space to care.”

Ultimately, campaigners are hopeful for whatever happens next. As Brearley said: “Leave should be available to all parents and carers, regardless of their circumstances. We’re years behind on this, but this is the chance to make a change.

“When we support people to become parents, everyone wins: the parents, the economy and, of course, our kids.”

Celia Venables is a campaigner and PR consultant who works with a range of clients, including those pushing for better parental rights.