Tuesday, 23 July 2024
Ross Arnold
10 minute read
Below is a brief insight into how my thoughts on paternity leave changed:
“I’m going to be a father, I'm so excited. Six weeks of paternity leave at full pay! I’m so lucky. What am I going to do with all the spare time I'm obviously going to have in between looking after my baby. Catch up on my reading... get fit.”
“Oooh boy. How am I already three weeks into my paternity leave, being a new parent is incredible and incredibly exhausting. How can one tiny thing be so all consuming. Will me and my partner find some sort of routine soon. How can I make sure she feels happy and confident when I go back to work, I’ve only got three weeks left.”
“It's not perfect but it's working, we’ve found a rhythm and routine that is working for us, for now. I feel so much happier about returning to work, I know my partner feels more confident about that prospect too. I'm so grateful to have had six weeks off at full pay. It gave us an opportunity to overcome some of the obstacles put in front of us as new parents and made the first phase of life with our newborn baby that much more enjoyable. What would I have done with less time.”
Current statutory paternity leave in the UK is only two weeks.
In this article I’m going to layout some of the issues around only having two weeks paternity leave. I’ll discuss simple ways companies can change this and cover why it wasn’t just beneficial for me to have six weeks paternity leave at full pay; but how it made great sense for my company too.
It’s worth quickly thinking about what great paternity leave might look like for an employee:
I certainly benefitted from all of the above points. Our baby’s birth, while incredibly special to us, was a standard one. She was a few weeks early but she was delivered without any additional complications, and we were home within three days. My partner recovered quickly and thankfully we had no other big complications or issues. I say this to illustrate that even with a birth story like ours, where we had very few complications and reasons for additional stress, we both still found those first weeks incredibly challenging. It’s very hard to imagine how we would have fared if I had to return to work after just two weeks, or as in some cases, didn’t take any leave at all due to financial pressures.
When employees have to return to work after two weeks with a new baby at home, it can mean they are more tired, less focused and more stressed. I know I would have been. This probably would have continued for as long as it took us to find some sort of routine. I would have found it very hard to focus on my work as I would have been worrying about how my partner was coping at home on her own with a two week old baby. The challenges we faced at home together but managed to overcome with the extra time off I had, would have been exacerbated. I wouldn’t have understood as well as I do now just how demanding looking after a baby all day can be. On returning home, my evenings would have been more stressful therefore causing me to be even more tired and irritable at work. Our relationship and ability to be a team when taking care of our baby would likely have suffered as .
Consider then, the extra pressure on families whose birth stories are more complex than ours. According to NHS England in an example month (January 2022) of the births that they have data for, 15% were elective caesarean sections and 19% were emergency caesarean sections. The recommended recovery time for an elective caesarean section is six weeks and for an emergency can be far more depending on the individuals' circumstances. This would mean that in January 2022, for 34% of couples, their partners would be back at work after the Mum had only one-third of the recommended recovery time (unless some other special leave/holiday was used).
During those six weeks (or more) recovery, Mum wouldn't be able to drive and is advised against lifting - including getting baby in and out of the crib. Although these scenarios are incredibly different to ours, I feel confident in saying that having longer paternity leave would help ease some of the stress in these situations. Having that second caregiver around for longer to help out while Mum recovers from surgery can only be a benefit.
There are myriad other things that can place additional pressure and stresses on parents with new babies, such as:
A recent new law, the 'Neonatal Care bill', which will come into force in April 2025, will offer additional paid leave to parents whose baby is receiving continuing neonatal care in the hospital. This is just one other way to help new parents who are facing extra challenges. Companies can choose to adopt this policy now rather than waiting until April 2025.
As of Spring 2024, current statutory paternity pay for eligible employees is £172.48 a week or 90% of their average weekly earnings (whichever is lower). The UK's paternity pay is one of the worst in Europe. According to a study by University College London - nearly a third of new fathers didn't take paternity leave because it wasn't financially possible for them or their families.
A further report by the Centre for Progressive Policy (CPP) suggests that the low amount of time and money provided denies fathers precious time with their newborn babies, and in turn can damage the mental health of both parents by creating additional stresses.
The best outcome would be to improve paternity leave and have the government pass laws to increase leave and pay. However, given the UK's status as one of the worst statutory paternity packages in Europe, it seems unlikely to achieve meaningful change soon. This does put pressure on Companies to take initiative and implement these benefits themselves, but as a result they really show that they take the well-being of their employees seriously.
It might not solve all the challenges faced by new parents, but I believe having extended paternity leave makes economic and social sense for the company too. I am grateful to Rock Solid Knowledge for providing me with such a great paternity leave package. It provided me with precious time to enjoy with my partner and newborn baby, but it also let me fully understand the kind of company I was working for and how they value employees. They also offer 3 months full maternity pay, shared parental leave and adoptive leave. Providing longer paternity leave at full pay is a simple solution to ease the stresses placed on parents with new babies, in turn helping to nurture a more relaxed and productive return to work.
For me the importance of having extended paternity leave cannot be overstated. It gave me and my new family the ability to form a solid foundation that we continue to build on .
Last updated: Tuesday, 20 August 2024
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