I'm very pleased this government is going ahead with Labour's idea to let the father take up any remaining unpaid leave if the mother goes back to work early.
The government also plans to consult on a "proper" system of shared parental leave. This is something I very much support see Paternity leave a personal view.
If couples can share maternity leave then there is less reason to disgriminate against mother's by employers as dad's can also take time away from work. If used wisely then shared maternity leave could help the income of the family like reducing the cost of nursery.
Also the flexibility of chunks rather than a single block of maternity leave will help employer's and employee's. Because the employee suddenly becomes more flexible at work while taking leave. Again this will help families manage their time looking after the children.
Showing posts with label Paternity leave. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paternity leave. Show all posts
Monday, 17 January 2011
Sunday, 29 August 2010
Paternity leave a personal view
The recent report on fathers who don't take paternity leave (Some 45% of new fathers said they did not take paternity leave) and the fact that David Cameron took paternity leave has put paternity leave in the news over the last few weeks.
There has been plenty of chat in the media and radio phone in's, I have noticed some people have questioned why fathers are not taking paternity leave. I have even heard that they think some fathers who don't take paternity leave are bad fathers. They don't understand why they haven't saved up.
Well as a father to be and someone who is not taking paternity leave I can tell them why. I can't afford it, simple as that. I would receive from the government £124.88 a week for two weeks. This is below the minimum wage for a 40 hour week. At the moment I need all the money I can get.
Of course you could ask, If you can't afford to have a baby then don't have one? Well I can afford to have a baby I just can't afford to take a cut in my salary as I need to save for a bigger flat, car and all the other related baby costs. In my girl friends case she suffers from a medical issue which normally means she can not get pregnant. But we had a little miricle so there is no way we would ever let this baby go and beside for us we could never have an abortion especially bearing this medical point in mind. It's a chance we can't passup.
So for the above reasons I decided to take 5 days holiday when the time comes rather than paternity leave. The figures do not take into account that fathers to be could be taking holiday to cover the first week.
I also think it would be better if paternity could be taken at a later date if required, say in 6 months time when it may be more practical to help out as a father (I'm not going to be very good at breast feeding).
I'm not asking myself for more money, I'm just pointing out that father are not bad for not taking of paternity leave. Fathers may need to earn money to help with their new life. Lets not be so quick to judge when we do not know the full story of Britains fathers and fathers to be.
Todays link on this subject A father's view of going back to work: 'I felt genuinely devastated' from the Guardian
There has been plenty of chat in the media and radio phone in's, I have noticed some people have questioned why fathers are not taking paternity leave. I have even heard that they think some fathers who don't take paternity leave are bad fathers. They don't understand why they haven't saved up.
Well as a father to be and someone who is not taking paternity leave I can tell them why. I can't afford it, simple as that. I would receive from the government £124.88 a week for two weeks. This is below the minimum wage for a 40 hour week. At the moment I need all the money I can get.
Of course you could ask, If you can't afford to have a baby then don't have one? Well I can afford to have a baby I just can't afford to take a cut in my salary as I need to save for a bigger flat, car and all the other related baby costs. In my girl friends case she suffers from a medical issue which normally means she can not get pregnant. But we had a little miricle so there is no way we would ever let this baby go and beside for us we could never have an abortion especially bearing this medical point in mind. It's a chance we can't passup.
So for the above reasons I decided to take 5 days holiday when the time comes rather than paternity leave. The figures do not take into account that fathers to be could be taking holiday to cover the first week.
I also think it would be better if paternity could be taken at a later date if required, say in 6 months time when it may be more practical to help out as a father (I'm not going to be very good at breast feeding).
I'm not asking myself for more money, I'm just pointing out that father are not bad for not taking of paternity leave. Fathers may need to earn money to help with their new life. Lets not be so quick to judge when we do not know the full story of Britains fathers and fathers to be.
Todays link on this subject A father's view of going back to work: 'I felt genuinely devastated' from the Guardian
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)