Money worries 'prevent paternity leave being taken'

Thursday, March 18th 2010

Many fathers are reluctant to take paternity leave because of financial worries.

This is according to the results of a YouGov survey commissioned by Orange, which looked at opinions regarding new paternity rights coming into force next year.

Only 18 per cent of working men said they would take the full six months paternity leave.

For 47 per cent of workers, money concerns were the main factor in this decision.

And one-quarter said that from April 2011, when the new rights will be introduced, they would not be taking any time off work.

New mothers can transfer six months of their maternity leave to fathers under the paternity legislation, but many men thought their business would not be able to function without them for this long.

According to Katja Hall, director of employment policy for the Confederation of British Industry: "The government must get these new rules right and not create a bureaucratic tangle."