Nursery World - Redistribution of parental leave proposed by equalities watchdog

Maternity leave should be cut from nine months to six months and paid 'parental leave' should be introduced to encourage more fathers to take time off work when their children are young, the equalities watchdog the Equality and Human Rights Commission said on Monday.

A report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission said the proposal would increase the take-up of leave among fathers and lower-income parents, help tackle the gender pay gap and give better support and social benefits for parents and children.

Rather than extending maternity leave, the report said that fathers needed to have more paid leave in their own right and parents needed the option of choosing how to share leave.

Under the proposals, the first 26 weeks would remain dedicated maternity leave but the number of weeks that mothers are paid at 90 per cent of pay would rise from six weeks to 26 weeks. This would be followed by at least four months' paid 'parental leave', that either parent can take, any time up until the child's fifth birthday.

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