Inquiry into paternity and shared parental leave

Date: 28th January 2025
Category: General measures of implementation, Family Environment and Alternative Care

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Closing date: 7^th February 2025

The Women and Equalities Committee has launched an inquiry to explore how paternity and shared parental leave can be improved to promote equality at work and home.

The unequal sharing of childcare responsibilities is a key factor behind gender inequality and the gender pay gap, and the committee is seeking ideas for reform. The inquiry aims to find effective ways to encourage parents to share childcare and household responsibilities more equally. People are invited to submit their views on several key questions, including:

• How well the current shared parental leave scheme offers parents flexibility in their first year;
• Whether the scheme has led to more equal sharing of responsibilities as children grow;
• The impact of the scheme on women in the workplace;
• Reasons for low uptake of shared parental leave and how this could be improved.

The inquiry follows recommendations from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child to strengthen measures to enable working parents and carers to balance their professional and family responsibilities. In 2023, the UN Committee called on the UK and devolved governments to do more to encourage parents to take parental leave and ensure access to affordable childcare options, with specific focus on families in poverty, rural areas and families with irregular work schedules.

While childcare and family support are devolved to Scotland, the law around parental leave is reserved to the UK. Accordingly, we encourage members with an interest to participate in this UK Parliament inquiry.

The committee is encouraging individuals, including parents from all backgrounds, to provide written submissions and or evidence through the inquiry website.

• Click here to find out more and to take survey