Dads shun extended paternity leave
18 March 2010
Less than 20% of male workers think they would be able to take advantage of proposed laws entitling them to six months' paternity leave.
Categories:
Working life
|
Equality & diversity
By Carla Dobson
A YouGov study for telecommunications firm Orange has found that 18% of men would welcome plans which would see them sharing their partner's year of maternity leave.
However, 27% of those questioned said they would not take any time off when the new law comes into effect next year.
Concerns over money (47%) and how their business would cope without them (15%) were among the main factors which would prevent many new dads from taking advantage of some extra time with their offspring.
More than three quarters (79%) of men said they would make use of any flexible working arrangements their employer offered as an alternative to paternity leave.
Last month, research by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) highlighted that many dads are unaware of their rights at work, with 34% not realising that paid paternity leave is law.
A fifth of fathers with kids under the age of 15 do not know if their company offers flexible working, even though they are entitled to it by law.
For more information, What's all the fuss about: paternity leave