Self-employed workers make urgent paternity leave plea to MPs
Construction workers are set to descend on Westminster with a provocative message to MPs: “This will last longer than our paternity leave.”
This unusual protest aims to highlight the lack of legal paternity leave for self-employed fathers in the UK. Shopkeepers from all over the country will distribute condoms bearing this striking slogan to draw attention to their cause.
Self-employed fathers are currently not entitled to any paternity leave or pay. In contrast, working parents are entitled to two weeks’ leave paid at £187.18 per week or 90 per cent of their average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
According to a survey by On The Tools, it is estimated that one in three fathers working in the construction industry did not take leave when their last child was born; many cite financial cost as a barrier.
Along with The Dad Shift, the campaign group is pressing the government to introduce paternity pay for the self-employed.
Alistair Strathern, who co-chairs the Labor Group for Men and Boys, backed calls to close the gap.
“It’s a complete joke that self-employed dads spend less time getting to know their young children than they do getting them pregnant,” the Hitchin MP added.
Campaigners estimate that extending paternity leave to self-employed fathers would cost between £13.6 million and £37.7 million each year, depending on employment status.
Amanda Martin, Labor Group co-chair for Men and Boys and Portsmouth North MP, said: “Self-employed tradespeople build our homes, fix our heating and keep our lights on. We should be able to offer them the basic dignity of being able to welcome their children into the world without facing financial ruin.”
George Gabriel, co-founder of The Dad Shift, said: “Your average tradesperson can build a crib in less than the time it takes them to get up to bond with the baby who will sleep inside.
“It is unacceptable that working men are left stunned and left completely unsupported when their baby is born at one of the most important and challenging times of their lives. It’s time Labor fixed this.”
Lee Wilcox, CEO of On The Tools, said: “This huge gap in our country’s paternity leave system needs to be filled quickly. Too many self-employed tradespeople can’t afford to take even a day off when their baby is born.”
“Dads in business, like any new parent, want to participate in those precious first few weeks for their partner and new baby without having to pay out of pocket.”
Self-employed mothers are entitled to receive maternity benefit for up to 39 weeks.
