Self-employed: Paternity Leave

Question

Asked by

To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to provide paternity leave to the self-employed.

The Government are undertaking a review of parental leave and pay, which presents a much-needed opportunity to consider our approach to the system and whether the support available meets the needs of modern working families, including the self-employed. The review will conclude in early 2027 with a set of findings in which the Government will outline next steps for taking any potential reforms forward to implementation.

My Lords, why do the Government need another review to tell us what is obvious: that excluding nearly one in four fathers from our system of paternity pay is unfair and needs fixing? Becoming a new father can be stressful and expensive, as well as wonderful and joyous. But if the Government are committed to supporting families now with the cost of living, can the Minister commit to closing this loophole in 2026, not in another year’s time?

I thank the noble Baroness for her advocacy for the importance of paternity leave and parental rights. We have already delivered real change through the Employment Rights Act. On 6 April, paternity leave and unpaid parental leave became day-one rights. Alongside these changes, we are undertaking this comprehensive review of the system to consider whether further reforms are required. We have engaged with a broad range of stakeholders, alongside evaluating other sources of evidence. We have received almost 1,500 responses to the call for evidence, and it is important that we consider these carefully before deciding what further reforms are required.

My Lords, we thank the noble Baroness, Lady Penn, for bringing this question up; it is really important. However, it is not just about rights that do not exist; current rights and their take-up is also a really important issue, and I hope the review will look at that. According to the 2025 Unison parental leave survey, there was an 86.3% uptake of maternal leave but only a 31.8% uptake of paternal leave. Paternal leave is just as important—in fact, even more important—because fathers are an important influence. Will the review look at the take-up of existing rights, as well as developing rights of the sort the noble Baroness, Lady Penn, talked about?

The noble Lord is right to draw attention to the importance of fathers and mothers, the whole family unit and kinship carers in nurturing families, and the role of families in our communities. The review is wide-ranging. It is considering all existing entitlements and is looking at the implications for economic growth, labour market participation, maternal health and the best start in life. I am sure it will also look at the uptake of existing measures as well as potential extensions to entitlements, on top of what is already in place.

My Lords, it is nearly a year since the Women and Equalities Committee recommended the introduction of a paternal allowance for self-employed working fathers and other parents, similar to the maternity allowance for self-employed mothers. The committee also said that the lack of any provision for self-employed working dads was “deeply unfair”. Do the Government agree?

The Government agree that more can be done to improve the system. The review is looking at the extension of entitlement to potential support for self-employed fathers as well as others in this quite complex system. We are looking at how we can take that forward. The review will conclude early in 2027 with findings and the next steps for reform.

My Lords, the Minister is of course right that there are complexities, and the review will have to look at all of those. However, there is the very uncomplex issue of the right of self-employed men to some sort of paternity leave. It would be reassuring to know that the Government recognise that this is an issue of principle that they must deal with, alongside the many other issues.

We are clear in the terms of reference for the review that it considers the needs of self-employed parents, including fathers and partners. We agree that more can be done to improve the system. We are taking evidence, looking at international comparisons and looking to build on what we have already done. For example, we are bringing 32,000 parents into scope for paternity leave and around 1.5 million for unpaid parental leave as a consequence of the Employment Rights Act.

The Minister has said twice at the Dispatch Box that she will report back with a decision in early 2027. Will that be January or February 2027?

We are considering the extensive reports, as I mentioned, and all the evidence. We will conclude early in 2027.

Have the Government considered looking at the previous Government’s proposals in this area to see what lessons can be learned?

I am pleased to say that, as a result of the Employment Rights Act, we have established new rights for parents through paternity leave and the unpaid parental leave day-one rights to bring more parents into scope, so that they can access parental leave and support their families.

Does the Minister recognise that the lack of proper pay is the number one reason for a lack of take-up of existing rights? Will she confirm whether the new day one right to paternity leave is for paid or unpaid leave?

The paternity review will look at whether we should extend the current entitlement for qualifying employees under the new rights that have come in, which for qualifying employees is two weeks’ leave paid at the statutory rate. The parental leave and pay review is considering whether this entitlement is sufficient.