Paid time off around the arrival of a child was previously the preserve of the birth mother, whilst the father took a few days of annual leave at most.

Government legislation has changed but all too often, fathers are not taking up the opportunity of the paid paternal leave to which they are entitled. Many men would like to take leave, though it is still considered by too many to be “career damaging” to take to time off for childcare of any type. And this needs to change.

Just this week, some good news came in the fact that The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced their intention to take 20 weeks’ parental leave following the arrival of their daughter (as is standard for all employees of the Archewell Foundation in the United States). But this, and excuse the pun, is just baby steps.

For men to decline the offer of parental leave damages not only men, but women too. It can encourage sexist attitudes and stigma in the workplace, whilst also leaving the childcare responsibility burden solely on mothers and not giving new fathers the chance to bond with their new child.

Changes to current policies and workforce mindsets need to be implemented to encourage men to take up their entitled leave and encourage it to be seen as ‘the norm.’ It is hoped that the move to flexible working will help this cultural shift and a general move away from “presentism”.

Employers also need to make it possible for returners to work to have comparable careers to those they had before, irrespective of gender.

Current laws and trends
Parental policies differ across the world. In Europe, the average length for paternity leave is 12.5 days. Research carried out by the European Parliament found that the uptake from fathers is low with just 10% taking leave.

The causes of men not wanting to take up their entitled leave can often be put down to costs. Receiving a lower pay when you’ve just had a child is not an option for many but the issues do run deeper and a report conducted by CIPD found that three-quarters (73%) of men feels stigmatised about taking extended leave.

Cultural stigmas are a barrier
Research from the European Commission states that social norms and workplace cultures play an important role in determining uptake of leave by fathers. Even when access to benefits is clear, the societal expectations are affecting men taking up their entitled leave for fear of embarrassment or not being perceived as a ‘career driven’ individual that could affect their job.

Sweden is the poster child for paternity leave for the rest of the world. The country has one of the most generous parental leave systems in the world, with new parents entitled to 480 days of paid parental leave, where each parent is entitled to half of those days. This battle to end the stigma and challenge these cultural norms is working for the country. In 2014, men were taking one quarter of the total paternal pay available for a couple – more than their minimum allocation. Prior to this, that uptake was just 0.5%.

A change in mindset
If we look at the top 40 countries for payroll complexity, according to the 2021 Global Payroll Complexity Index, each has its own regulations for maternity, paternity and adoption leave. These are not set and are subject to change. This means HR teams must stay on top of regulations in each country under their remit. There can be high fines for wrong payments, and potential PR disasters.

Some countries are yet to offer paid paternity leave including the United States, Austria, China and Mexico. Paid adoption leave is not offered in the United States, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong and Mexico.

While the onus may be on governments to change policies, there are strategies employers can implement. Businesses can start by offering flexible work options for parents and create a more open culture when tackling the ongoing issues of parental leave. In the past few years, more companies have boosted paternity and shared parental leave for their employees. Aviva, for example, now offers employees six months’ parental leave on full pay irrespective of gender, sexual orientation or how people became parents. However, the support provided to staff during pregnancy and after needs to extend to both men and women.

It’s becoming more and more obvious now: taking time out of work to look after children is too often seen as a female issue, not a parental one, because men are not taking the paternity leave they should be.

Mums and dads – are, at the end of the day, parents. So, they must take their parental leave. It will, in the long run, help us all.