‘Fathers unsure of employment rights’ reveals survey
Thursday, 18th February 2010
Over 50% of fathers with children under 16 years of age claim they would look for an employer offering flexible working when choosing a job, as a government study reveals widespread misunderstandings of paternal employment rights.
More than 560 fathers were questioned by the department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), which found that 20% did not know if their company offered flexible working to fathers.
Other findings showed that 34% did not realise that paid paternity leave was entitled by law and that they must approach their employers 15 weeks before a child is due.
To tackle the ignorance, a month-long awareness campaign, Dads At Work, will see informative posters and leaflets distributed in outlets such as GP surgeries and ante-natal clinics.
Employment Relations Minister, Lord Young, said: "We know that rights for dads at work are valued by people and that businesses also see real benefits in offering them, but our research shows that there are still some dads out there that are not aware of what they are entitled to and therefore risk missing out.
"Our campaign is all about making sure dads know what they can do and to help them have more confidence as they weigh up what works best for them and their family. The key is to talk to their employer."
The Government stressed that fathers were entitled to request flexible working, take two weeks' paid paternity leave and had the right to take up to 13 weeks of unpaid leave until their child was five years old.
Commenting on the results, Chief Executive of the Fatherhood Institute, Rob Williams, added: “It is so important that we support working fathers to have time off to spend time with their family and make sure they know how they can do that.
“It not only helps fathers have close, positive relationships with their children but also encourages fathers to make important decisions with the mum, decisions that are probably on a far greater scale than anything else they have needed to discuss before.”
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