The National Childbirth Trust today released data on the attitudes of men to incoming changes in paternal leave. The changes will allow mothers to pass up to half of their paternal leave to their partner and/or father of their child.

Key statistics
All statistics refer only to men questioned in our survey

“Is sharing parental leave more equally between yourself and your partner something you would consider if you were to have a/another child, once shared parental leave becomes available after 2015?”
• 30% of men said no

For those who said no, here are the reasons cited (all respondents cited a primary and secondary reason)

If the rate of paternity pay was not an issue, what would be your preferred option for the year after having a baby?
• Shared parental leave 14%
• One month’s paternity leave 20%
• Flexible working hours 44%
• Part-time work 9%
• Working from home one day a week 13%

However, 60% of men were not aware that they are currently entitled to request flexible hours if they have been with a company more than 26 weeks.

76% of men would be more likely to take advantage of shared parental leave if it were on a part-time basis.

A note on definitions: The population sampled was split into two groups. The first, classified as “new parents” within the tables, are is individuals with at least one child under the age of 5. The second, classified as “prospective parents” within the tables, are is individuals under the age of 45 who do not currently have a child under the age of 5.

To view the tables for this data, click here.
To view the NCT website, click here.
To view the article in the Independent, click here.