Former Labour minister Alan Johnson has said working-class fathers are being shortchanged on paternity leave and that the forthcoming budget should correct it. He has added his name to a growing number of current and former MPs and senior Labour figures calling for six weeks of paternity leave paid at 90% of earnings, capped at £1,200 a week, with the offer extended to self-employed fathers, who are currently the only parents with no entitlement to paid leave.
Johnson, who introduced paid paternity leave as trade and industry secretary almost a quarter of a century ago, spoke to the Guardian about his own experiences. He recalled that when his second child was born, he came home from work on a night shift in the postal service to find a note from his wife telling him she had gone to hospital to have a baby. He slept for a few hours and went back to work.
A class issue in access to leave
Working-class fathers are still far less likely to take up the current paternity leave of £187.18 a week for two weeks, among the least generous offerings in Europe. According to analysis of HMRC data by the campaign group the Dad Shift, 90% of paternity leave in 2024-25 was claimed by fathers in the UK's top half of earners – those who generally make more than £37,800 a year – and 95% of claims for shared parental leave were made by fathers or partners in the top 50% bracket.
“The statistics about who is actually accessing paternity leave is just stunning. It shows that it’s a class issue,” said Johnson. “It’s great that more prosperous dads are taking paternity leave, but we’ve got to do something to increase the take-up among the lower paid.”
Cost and political support
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation estimates that introducing the new policy of six weeks at 90% of pay in the forthcoming budget would cost the government an additional £1bn, but increased tax receipts from women going back to work could reduce that cost to £220m.
Asked if the government should introduce the change in the next budget, despite the strong economic headwinds faced by the chancellor, John Healey, Johnson was in no doubt. “Absolutely. In government terms, the cost is money down the back of the sofa,” he said. “And actually if the finances are preventing couples from having children, ultimately that is bad for society. Society needs children, mankind needs to procreate. So encouraging childbirth is good for society, full stop.”
The policy would be popular, and unlikely to be opposed, he added. “If it was, in pure political terms, it’s a good dividing line for Andy Burnham and the Labour party to take,” he said. “It’s an excellent dividing line.”
