HomeDad.org.uk

Many British fathers are working long hours, struggling to balance work and family life and fear that requesting flexible working will damage their careers, according to a new report from the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Although fathers want to take a more active role in caring for their children, four in 10 say they spend too little time with their children.

Forty-five per cent of dads fail to take two weeks’ paternity leave after the birth of their child; the the most common reason is that they can’t afford to. Two in five men fear that asking for flexible working arrangements would result in their commitment to their job being questioned and would negatively affect their chances of a promotion.

The report also points to an opportunity for employers to gain a competitive advantage in recruitment, as two in three fathers consider the availability of flexible working to be important when looking for a new job.

One approach to balancing work and family commitments outlined in the report is to expand paternity and parental leave schemes. The Commission has previously outlined a series of fully costed policies that would help to meet the needs of businesses and modern families as part of its Working Better Initiative.

It included fathers having:

• two weeks’ paternity leave at the birth of their child at 90 per cent pay

• four months of dedicated ‘parental leave’ with at least eight weeks of leave being at 90 per cent pay

• another four months’ parental leave - that can be taken by either mother or father – eight weeks of which is taken at 90 per cent pay.

Andrea Murray, Acting Group Director Strategy from the Equality and Human Rights Commission said, “It is clear that today’s families require a modern approach to balancing work and childcare commitments. Fathers are telling us they are not spending enough time with their families and want to take a more active role in shaping the lives of their children.

“We have spoken to parents, employers, unions and leading academic experts in the field, and we believe that our Working Better policies lay out a road-map to 2020 which will put Britain ahead of the curve in terms of modern working practices.

“Two-thirds of fathers see flexible working as an important benefit when looking for a new job. This highlights an opportunity for British businesses to use flexible working as an incentive for attracting and retaining the most talented of employees. Some companies which have adopted forward thinking policies towards families are reporting increased productivity, reduction in staff turnover, reduced training costs and an ability to respond better to customer requirements.”

The existing arrangements for paternity leave are that fathers can take two weeks’ statutory paternity pay paid at a maximum of £123.06 per week. There is also a proposal that by 2011 fathers will be able to take another six months’ paternity – three months at the statutory rate of pay and three months’ unpaid – so long as the mother gives up her extra six months of maternity leave.

Some other key findings of the report are:

• Six in 10 fathers said they worked more than 40 hours a week

• Half of fathers believed they spent too much time at work

• Nearly six in 10 fathers agreed with the statement that partners can share work/career and childcare equally

• Although flexible working was available to half of fathers, only 30 per cent were actually using it

• 56 per cent of fathers who took paternity leave said that taking time off around the birth of their child led to them taking a greater role in caring for their children, while 69 per cent said it led to improvements in family life

• Of those who did not take paternity leave, two thirds said they would have liked to ‘a lot’. The most common reason provided for not doing so was being unable to afford to take the time off.

• 61 per cent of fathers supported the idea of an additional four weeks paid leave that would be reserved solely for the father. With 55 per cent saying they would take this kind of leave if it was available.

The EHRC report draws on a 2008-2009 YouGov quantitative survey of 4,500 parents in England, Wales and Scotland of children aged under 16, and is supported by qualitative data from several online forums involving a wide range of groups of fathers.