We were delighted to see that submissions to the Fathers in the Workplace inquiry made last year by the Coalition and our members Dad Blog UK, Families Need Fathers Cymru and Working With Men have been strongly reflected in the recently published Women and Equalities Committee recommendations to support working dads.
On the day they were announced, Dad Blog UK appeared on The Wright Stuff and Newsnight to discuss the recommendations in context of the challenges facing stay-at-home dads and their partners.
Specifically, the new recommendations include calls for increased paternity pay and changes in workplace culture and flexible working to recognise the equal importance of fathers and mothers — all of which were reforms called for in the Coalition’s submission.
The recommendations are online here:
The full report is available here, the Coalition is mentioned in paragraph 48:
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmwomeq/358/358.pdf
“48. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) told us about its
research with employers which found that around half (49 per cent) provide only the
statutory minimum amount of paternity pay, while almost one in five (18 per cent) pay at or near the full rate of pay for paternity leave. Public and voluntary sector organisations are more likely than those in the private sector to enhance paternity pay provision, with 29 per cent of public sector and 26 per cent of voluntary sector organisations paying two weeks’ enhanced paternity pay at or near the full rate of pay, compared to 15 per cent of private sector organisations. Referring to differences in pay rates and length of leave between maternity and paternity leave, the Men and Boys Coalition said that:
‘The fact that there is both a difference in the time periods and rates of
entitlement already acts as a structural barrier regarding fatherhood and
the workplace. In effect, it acts as a clear push factor or disincentive for
working men to be involved as fathers in the very first weeks of their child’s
birth.'”
The Coalition submission to the inquiry is published here: