Increasing paternity leave is a no-brainer - that's why I'm taking my pram to parliament

The quick answer is yes, they do. The reality is that the UK has been lagging behind the rest of the world on paternity leave for decades, but dads with a measly paternity leave allowance, and their partners, have had enough and are coming together to demand change at a policy level.

It is the system, not society, that is holding dads back. Right now, dads are entitled to just two weeks of paternity leave paid at 44 per cent less than the national living wage - and self-employed dads (who pay into national insurance like all other dads) get nothing, zilch. These two weeks of poorly paid paternity leave send a clear message that dads are optional, not essential to parenting, and this isn’t the case.

Increased paternity isn’t extra time off for dads, it’s extra time on. When dads take more leave, they‘re able to bond more consistently with their baby and to help their partner recover after birth. When my wife gave birth, we went on to live every parent's nightmare, as our daughter was rushed into NICU, where she stayed for 14 days. I was essential, not optional - but my paternity leave was just two weeks. This is, of course, not everyone’s birthing experience, but more often than not, dads will tell you that returning to work after just 2 weeks felt barbaric.

Dads are left to feel helpless, to keep calm and carry on, and to keep earning money and providing. But behind closed doors, dads are breaking; they aren’t ready to return to work, and they feel immense guilt for leaving their partners to pick up the pieces.

This has a direct knock-on effect for mothers too, who take on both the joy and the burden of care, losing an average of £65,000 in the first five years after their first child is born. We also know that maternal mental health in the UK is at a crisis point. Better paternity leave has been proven to reduce the motherhood penalty and improve women’s mental and physical health. If this Government is serious about supporting families, it must drag the UK out of the dark ages and bring our paternity leave system in line with the rest of the world.

Paternity leave isn’t just good for your company culture - it’s also good for business. When parents have access to more equal parental leave, the mother is often more ready to return to work, more likely to return, and dads and partners are on a more equal parenting trajectory for life. They are more likely to Parent Out Loud - by working flexibly and speaking openly and honestly about their caring responsibilities at work. All of this positively benefits companies, and we’ll be amplifying these messages through Equal Parenting Week.

Increasing paternity leave is a no-brainer; we need to catch up with the rest of Europe and bring paternity leave into the 21st Century. That’s why hundreds of dads, and their partners, will be pushing prams to parliament in April. Are you with us?

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Elliott Rae is the founder of Parenting Out Loud and Equal Parenting Week.

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