Fathers will be able to take up to six months' paternity leave while their child's mother returns to work, under government proposals due to be announced later today.
Ministers are expected to say that fathers will have a legal right to take the place of the mother at home for the last three months of her nine-month maternity leave.
During that time, they would be eligible for statutory government pay of £123 a week. They would then be allowed to take an additional unpaid three months off, which would effectively allow couples to have a total of 12 months' parental leave.
The measure would allow mothers who earn more than their partners to return to work earlier, and is a victory for Harriet Harman, the deputy leader of the Labour party, who has championed extra parental leave and flexible working rights for parents.
By Helene Mulholland © Guardian News and Media Limited 2010
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment