UK government proposes paid leave for new fathers

British fathers of new babies could take three months paid paternity leave under plans unveiled by the government on Wednesday. Trade and Industry Secretary Alan Johnson said the proposals in the Work and Families Bill would help parents balance the demands of their jobs with caring for their children.
But employers' groups said the idea could hit small businesses hard. The bill would see paid statutory maternity leave for new mothers increased from six to nine months from April 2007. Ultimately, the government said it hoped to extend this to a year.
Currently mothers get six months paid leave with the option of another six months unpaid, while fathers only have the right to two weeks paid leave at the time their baby is born.
Johnson said the government planned to give fathers the opportunity to take the additional three months paid leave instead of the mother, who might be in a better paid job.
"Men want to be more involved with their new-born babies," he told BBC radio. "If the mother chooses to go back to work after the first six months ... the father then can pick up extra paternity leave."
The plans would also require those on maternity leave to give two months notice to their employers of the date they intended to return to work.
Johnson said they had consulted widely with businesses over the proposals and had the backing of the Institute of Directors and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
However both the CBI and the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) expressed concern at the proposals, which they said could prove an administrative nightmare.
CBI deputy director general John Cridland also said the new fathers' rights could put pressure on companies to provide occupational paternity pay.
"The business community recognises the aspirations of their employees but the unexpected new right for fathers, which wasn't even in the Labour manifesto, has caused concern, particularly amongst smaller firms," he said.
The BCC said its latest survey had found 80 percent of 1,200 employers questioned were against the extensions to paid maternity leave.
"Small businesses now face tremendous pressures due to the likelihood of losing more key staff for longer periods of time," its director general David Frost said.
However charity Fathers Direct argued the bill did not go far enough in allowing parents to decide who cared for their baby.
"It will not be a practical option for most families until the new paternity leave is properly paid," said chief executive Duncan Fisher.