02/13/2024

Why Employers Need to Embrace Flexible Working for Fathers

Flexible working has become a necessity

We often talk about flexible work as a perk to improve work-life balance, or a bonus for parents so they can fit their job around their kids. But in reality, flexible working isn’t a benefit, it is a necessity. Whether you're delayed on the nursery run or have to look after a sick child, the ability to work flexible hours, from home or in a job share allows parents to stay in work and enjoy time with their children.

Despite this, half of new fathers don't get the flexibility they request. Although the time after childbirth is a crucial bonding period between parents and infants, 53 percent of men are denied the flexibility they ask for and those on lower incomes are even less likely to have their flexi-working requests accepted. A third of fathers do not know their right to adapt their work to fit their family life; many employers are unclear, too.

The wider picture for fathers in the UK is bleak, too. Britain has the least generous paternity leave rights in Europe, with the statutory entitlement for new fathers just two weeks. A recent survey of 3,000 new parents found that two in five fathers didn’t access paid parental leave – and one in five took no time off work when their child was born.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Yahoo! Finance.