Dads at work – Know your rights

Dads are really valuing the chance to work flexibly around the needs of their children.

New research into the needs and realities of dads in employment, found that 56 per cent of fathers with children under the age of 16 said they would now look for an employer which offered flexible working hours.

The majority of dads with children under the age of five also believe it is important to have the option to take paid paternity leave, with 62 per cent believing a dad’s relationship with their child suffers if they do not.

The findings come from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and is supported by  the Department for Children Schools and Families.

BIS are now launching a new awareness campaign to mae sure dads do know about what their rights at work really are.

It appears that 20 per cent of dads were not aware of their legal right to request flexible working from their employer, 34 per cent did not realise paid paternity leave is law and 22 per cent thought they only had to tell their employer about their intention to take paternity leave when the baby is born.

Employment Relations Minister Lord Young said that though businesses were aware of the benefits of employing dads, the fathers themselves were missing out by not knowing their own entitlements.

He said: “Our campaign is all about making sure dads know what they can do and to help them have more confidence as they weigh up what works best for them and their family. The key is to talk to their employer.”

By law, fathers are entitled to:

Request flexible working – parents of a child 16 or under, are entitled to request flexible working such as flexi time, part time or working from home, and, by law, an employer must seriously consider the request.

Paid paternity leave – new dads can take two weeks’ paid leave. They need to notify their employer 15 weeks before the due date.

Parental leave – dads have the right to take up to 13 weeks unpaid leave until their child is five years old.

The new campaign launched by BIS, is called Dads at Work and will see information distributed in GP and ante-natal settings for dads to read.

For more information, visit: vwww.direct.gov.uk/dadsatwork