Tue, 01 Jul 2025

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 Parental leave and pay for new parents to be reviewed

Campaigners say the UK's system has been "overlooked for years", and investing in it is a "no-brainer".
A landmark review will examine the UK's parental leave system, which campaigners say has been "overlooked for years". The government wants to modernize the system and make it more supportive for working families. Ministers have acknowledged that the current system is "really confusing" with eight different types of parental leave available and not particularly generous compared to other countries. One in three fathers currently take no paternity leave, while hardly anyone takes shared parental leave. The review will look at statutory leave, which is funded by the government and provides a minimum amount of paid time off for new parents. Statutory maternity leave allows mothers to take up to 52 weeks off work, but the pay is only 90% of their average earnings after six weeks. Paternity leave was introduced in 2003 and allows fathers to take two weeks off at £187.18 a week or 90% of their average earnings. However, this is less than half of the National Living Wage. Shared parental leave was introduced in 2014 but has seen low take-up rates. Campaigners are calling for improvements to make the system more supportive and generous, especially for fathers. The review is expected to last 18 months and will consider the need for significant investment to address the "fundamental flaws" in the current system.
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