“Looking only at parents who are potentially eligible for SPL – i.e. both are working – our study revealed that, on average, there had been no significant increase in the number of new fathers taking up leave.”

“In a sense, that is not surprising, as a high proportion would have started taking some form of paternity leave when it was first introduce... See more

“First and foremost, the financial terms are not that attractive. The low rate for Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) means shared leave often represents a significant reduction in earnings and, for many people, makes it unaffordable. This is exacerbated if the father is the family’s primary earner, or earns considerably more than the mother.”

“Th... See more

The study which used data from 40,000 households across the UK, found SPL has not affected the number of fathers taking leave, nor the length of leave they choose to take. The research compared families with children born before and after the SPL rollout and the results are clear – paternal leave uptake has not increased, and the leaves being taken... See more