Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
Members of Parliament ready to tell “terrible dad jokes” Folk to highlight concerns paternity leaveWhat he calls “the worst dad joke ever.”
In Britain, Statutory paternity pay is set at £187.18 weekly, or 90 per cent of average earnings, Whichever is less.
Father gets two weeks leave at this salaryTaken together or separately.
Freddy Van Mierlo, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Fatherhood, emphasizes that a “loud and clear” message must be sent that the current situation is “not good enough.”
The Liberal Democrat MP for Henley and Thom is set to tell the Commons during a debate on International Men’s Day: “I used to hate facial hair, but then it grew on me.
“Sure, it’s not my best joke, but nowhere near as bad as the joke played on over half a million fathers every year – only two weeks’ paternity leave at less than half the minimum wage and nothing for the self-employed.”
Amanda Martin, the Labor MP for Portsmouth North, will say on Thursday: “A skeleton comes into the pub and says: Will I have a pint of lager and a mop, please.
“You think that’s bad? Try recovering from birth, and those scary first days with a new baby, when your partner can’t even take a day of paternity leave — or, if you’re lucky, he’s getting two weeks off.”
People on lower incomes are less likely to take paternity leave, according to HMRC analysis by campaign group, The Dad Shift.
The group said that of the 216,000 people taking paternity leave in 2024-25, 9.5 per cent were on an annual salary of £37,800 or less.
The government had previously said it would review parental leave, declaring that the current system was “not working” for families.
George Gabriel, co-founder of The Dad Shift, said: “A bad joke doesn’t begin to describe it. It’s an absolute scandal that low-income fathers feel a severe lack of time with their children.”
“Raising your own children should not be a luxury that only the rich can afford – rather it is what makes spending two weeks on less than half the minimum wage and nothing for the self-employed guaranteed. No wonder 57 per cent of new fathers say the fear of financial insecurity prevents them from having further children.”
“The Government’s review of parental leave is the best opportunity in a generation to make this change, so let’s get it done,” she said.