Usdaw welcomes more paid paternity leave for new dads

Supporting Parents and Carers campaign

Retail union Usdaw has warmly welcomed Government plans to give new dads more paid time off with their babies.

The Government has announced that the Work and Families Bill will extend paid maternity leave from six months to nine months, but giving fathers the option of taking the last three months.

This new initiative will mean dads can claim a statutory payment of £106 a week to look after their child and giving fathers the right to more paid time off with their child was a central demand of Usdaw’s highly successful Supporting Parents and Carers campaign.

“This is a win win situation for all our members,” says Usdaw General Secretary John Hannett. “New mothers will benefit from another three months paid leave if they want it, something we have been campaigning for all year, and this new flexible approach will allow families to decide if mum or dad take up the last three months of leave.”

“We are a family orientated union who want to make sure our members can achieve a proper work/life balance so these progressive new measures will allow retail workers to make real choices about who takes on the vital job of bringing up children.”

“We’re delighted that the Government has listened to our arguments on this issue and that workers with young families can have successful careers in retail as well as look after their children.”

Usdaw is the only union that asks all their officials to place increased rights for parents and carers on the agenda at wage negotiations and will work with Britain’s major retailers to make sure these new measures are integrated into their businesses.

“We reject the argument that increased maternity leave and paternity leave will have a damaging impact on business,” John Hannett said. “The reality is that most employers recover 94% of the cost of maternity and paternity leave from the Government and small businesses can recover 104% of the cost.”

Notes to Editors:

• Contacts for newsdesks: Usdaw’s Media Officer, Paul Clarke, can be contacted on 0161 249 2469 or e-mail paul.clarke@usdaw.org.uk.

• Usdaw (the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK’s fifth biggest trade union, with over 341,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.

• More information and news releases are available at our online Newsroom.

• Journalists can subscribe to receive Usdaw news releases via our online e-news service.

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© 2003 (USDAW) Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
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