Six weeks of paternity leave paid at 90 per cent of earnings would add a net £2.68bn a year to the UK economy and could reduce relationship breakdown after a birth, according to a review of 33 international studies published on 9 September by King’s Global Institute for Women’s Leadership and Equimundo: Center for Masculinities and Social Justice.
The report, Economic and Social Benefits of Enhanced Paternity Leave: Scoping Review, was written by Shiyu Yuan, Agnieszka Kasperska, Heejung Chung and Minna Cowper-Coles and funded by Equimundo and the Caring Masculinity Fund. It has been shared with ministers involved in the government’s parental leave and pay review, which the Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Work and Pensions launched on 1 July 2025 and which is due to end with a roadmap for reform.
The authors recommend six weeks at 90 per cent of normal earnings, reserved for the father or second parent and lost if unused, rather than carved out of the mother’s entitlement. They say it should extend to self-employed parents and those on fixed-term, zero-hours or temporary contracts, and be supported by employer guidance, help for smaller businesses, accessible childcare and flexible working rights.
What fathers get now
Fathers in the UK are entitled to two weeks of statutory paternity leave paid at £194.32 a week or less, which the report describes as a fraction of the minimum wage of £508 for a 40-hour week at £12.71 an hour. It cites Trades Union Congress polling from 2023 in which more than half of families reported financial difficulty when fathers took the leave.
Shared Parental Leave, which lets mothers transfer part of their maternity entitlement to a partner, is used by around 4 per cent of eligible fathers. The report treats it as a natural experiment in what happens when leave is available but transferable and poorly paid: HMRC data cited in the report shows 33 per cent of claims come from the highest income decile and effectively none from the bottom two.
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