A new report released today – Economic and Social Benefits of Enhanced Paternity Leave: Scoping Review – from King’s Global Institute for Women’s Leadership in partnership with Equimundo: Center for Masculinities & Social Justice, reveals that some of the strongest evidence was the link between longer and more generous, protected leave for dads and a reduction in relationship breakdowns after birth.
Iceland saw a drop of couple separations of 12 percentage points after the country added four weeks of non-transferable “daddy quota” on top of its existing parental leave settlement
The analysis found protected leave for dads and non-birthing partners could save up to £599 million a year by reducing relationship breakdown. Wider benefits were also identified in the review. Six weeks of leave paid at 90% of average weekly earnings is forecast to add a net £2.68 billion a year to the UK economy once fully established.
10 of the studies pointed to reduced relationship breakdown as a crucial social benefit of more generous and lengthier leave entitlement. A study in the US has found that parental leave can be attributed to parental separation dropping from 7.5% to 5.6% . Separation is expensive as well as painful, carrying costs to the state through housing, benefits, legal processes and lost employment. The UK modelling puts the potential saving from fewer relationship breakdowns at up to £781 million a year.
The study has been shared with Government ministers involved in the ongoing parental leave review and lands at a moment of generational change in how families work. A majority of couples with dependent children now working full time, and dual employment of couples, has been on an upward trend for the last 20 years (Source: ONS).
What the evidence shows
Researchers reviewed 33 studies of paternity and parental leave reforms across Europe, Canada and the US. Most compared families affected by a policy change with similar families who were not, helping to distinguish the effects of reform from changes that might have happened anyway.
Fathers are far more likely to take leave when it pays a substantial share of their wages and is theirs alone, meaning it cannot be transferred to their partner and is lost if unused. Fathers who took leave subsequently did more childcare and housework, as some studies show for several years afterwards. Several reforms also helped more mothers enter paid work or move into full-time jobs, narrowing gaps between mothers and fathers in employment, hours and earnings. Studies identified that there were also effects on gender role attitude of parents and children, as well as benefits for parental and child well-being outcomes although some of the evidence was not as strong as that for mother’s employment outcomes.
Results were not identical across every country or family. Effects depended on how much the leave paid, whether it was reserved for fathers, how families used it and what each study measured.
In Quebec, 2006 reforms introduced five weeks of leave reserved for fathers, paid at around 70% of earnings. The proportion of fathers claiming leave rose from 21% to 74%. The share of mothers participating in the labour market and working full time increased by around five percentage points, and fathers affected by the reform were still doing more unpaid work at home one to three years later.
The UK modelling considers six weeks of leave paid at 90% of a father’s average weekly earnings, capped at £1,200 a week. More mothers entering work or increasing their hours would generate £5.5 billion in additional economic output; after deducting an estimated £2.8 billion to account for fathers spending time away from work, the model produces a net annual gain of £2.68 billion.
Recommendations: Reserved leave for new dads and non-birthing partners
Based on the findings, King’s Business School researchers recommend six weeks paid at 90% of normal earnings, reserved for the father or second parent and lost if unused, rather than taken from the mother’s entitlement.
The entitlement should also cover self-employed parents and those on fixed-term, zero-hours or temporary contracts, supported by clear employer guidance, help for smaller businesses, accessible childcare and strong rights to flexible working.
The authors conclude that well-designed leave for fathers should be viewed not only as family or equality policy, but as economic policy that keeps more people in work, reduces the loss of skills after childbirth and supports productivity.
Commenting on the findings, Professor Heejung Chung, Professor of Work and Employment and Director of King’s Global Institute for Women’s Leadership: “Paternity leave is still too often treated simply as a bill for government and employers. But the strongest evidence shows that when fathers have leave of their own and can afford to take it, they do more care at home and mothers are better able to stay in paid work, which benefits the country economically.”
Shiyu Yuan, Research Assistant at King’s Global Institute for Women’s Leadership and co-author of the study said: “The details. A few extra weeks that families cannot afford will not deliver the economic and social gains so many other countries have seen. Nor will asking mothers to give up part of their own leave. New dads need time that belongs to them and is paid well enough for them to use it.”
Gary Barker, founder and CEO of Equimundo Center for Masculinities and Social Justice said: “The UK, like much of the world, is experiencing a transformation in how families divide work and caring. Traditional gender roles breaking down. Half of coupled families with dependent children now have both parents in full-time work. Around the world, we are seeing economies which have backed more equal relationships between dads and mums reap the benefits, from increased happiness, more equal relationships and indeed GDP growth. Expanding paternity leave is a vital step on the path towards care equality.”
Julia Gillard, Chair, King’s Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, adds; “the UK can give dads more equality and enjoy the benefits of economic and social gains by addressing together the three problems which have been identified in the current system.”
George Gabriel, Co-Founder, The Dad Shift, said: “Two weeks paternity leave simply isn’t enough. For the sake of this generation of parents – and our children, we need to get off the bottom place of Europe’s paternity leave league table and ensure the decent majority of dads who want to show up for their partners and babies aren’t blocked by the system from doing so.”
