Fathers are not taking advantage of shared parental leave – new research

As the Government policy of allowing couples to share their parental leave reaches its one-year anniversary, new research shows the take-up has been minimal, with just 1 per cent of men choosing to make use of the opportunity.

That is according to research conducted by My Family Care and the Women’s Business Council. They say the reasons for the poor take-up by fathers are lack of information about the scheme, which was introduced in April 2015, the impact on couples’ financial arrangements and a lack of willingness of mothers to share their leave with their partners. The new research says that 55 per cent of women say they don't want to share their leave with their partner.

Money also remains a significant obstacle to take-up in the scheme: four-fifths of couples surveyed said a decision to share their leave would be dependent on their financial situation, and on whether their employer had chosen to offer an enhancement on the basic pay stipulated by SPL policy.

But the research also indicated that things could be looking up, with more than three in five fathers saying they would like to make use of SPL if they were to have another child.

Ben Black, the founder of My Family Care, says that while the take-up so far has been disappointing the introduction of the policy in the first place has been a big step forward in the reimagining of family dynamics. “While take-up is low, its introduction was a fantastic step forward when it comes to equality in the workplace; a policy that proves that women are no longer expected to be the main childcare provider, while men are no longer expected to be the main breadwinner.”

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