Fathers protest in five Cambridge locations at UK’s ‘broken’ paternity leave system
A protest was held in Cambridge as part of a national day of action to highlight the UK’s stance on paternity leave.
Fathers in the UK receive the worst statutory paternity leave in Europe – fathers may receive one to two weeks of statutory paid paternity leave at £187.18 per week or 90 per cent of regular pay if lower than the mandated allowance.
In contrast, Sweden offers both parents access to 480 days of shared leave with partial pay. Parents are encouraged to split leave days between them. Parental leave is paid in flexible tiers starting at 80 per cent of the employee’s regular salary. Dads in the Netherlands get six weeks, in Spain 12 weeks.
The outcomes in the UK are not just financial. Protest organisers The Dad Shift have found that 45 per cent of UK fathers experience multiple symptoms of depression or anxiety after their baby is born, with 82 per cent calling better paternity leave the government’s top priority.
New research from The Dad Shift and Movember has revealed a hidden crisis: one in 15 had suicidal thoughts in their first year of fatherhood. And 73 per cent of fathers say they’re not psychologically ready to return to work after two weeks, thanks not least to being severely sleep-deprived.
Families suffer too, with: 90 per cent of dads say they want to be more involved with their children: the self-employed are most likely to feel unable to support their partner properly. Many fathers and non-birthing parents are left feeling guilty and distressed about missing this critical bonding period. Seven in ten (70 per cent ) say the short length of their paternity leave negatively impacted their health and wellbeing, and more than eight in ten (86 per cent) said it negatively impacted their partner’s.
The Cambridge group took their babygrow messages to five city locations on Saturday (10 May):
- King's College Chapel from Queens' Backs
- Mathematical Bridge, Queens' College
- Cambridge cityscape from Queens' College SCR Balcony
- Queens' College Chapel (Walnut Tree Court)
- River Cam, view towards Trinity Bridge from Garett Hostel Bridge (01)
- River Cam, view towards Clare College from Garett Hostel Bridge (02).
“It was really inspiring to join dads, parents and other Dad Shift supporters in Cambridge and across the country,” said protester Henry Duffy, “to hear their parenting stories and to promote the better paternity leave campaign in front of Cambridge's iconic landmarks, including the view of the Cam from the very busy Garret Hostel Lane bridge.
“I also enjoyed speaking to some who are planning to have children in the near future, and I really hope the government will take action in time for them to benefit from a better paternity leave offering.”
First-time dad Cameron Ford, 34, a Cambridge resident, said: “As a self-employed carpenter, any time I took off to be with my newborn baby meant no income for us.
“I would have loved to be there more at the start, but as my partner is also self-employed and received minimal maternity support, it's meant I've had to work a lot. Better support for Dads means better support for mums and more special moments with my child!”
George Gabriel, from The Dad Shift, said: “From day one, most fathers face an impossible choice: earn or be present. The stress of carrying these competing expectations is breaking tens of thousands of dads each year. We can’t carry on like this. The UK’s paternity leave is broken, and it's well past time the government fixed it. That’s why we’re calling a DadStrike.”
The DadStrike is set for 11 June, days before Fathers Day: fathers will form a ‘family-friendly picket line’ at the Department of Business and Trade from 4pm, as well as making a point of doing school pickup on the same day at schools and nurseries across the country.
More DadStrike details are here.
