Paternity pay in UK is one of the lowest in the developed world, MPs say

The UK has 1 of the "worst statutory permission offers for fathers and different parents successful the developed world", the chairwoman of the Women and Equalities Committee has warned.

Sarah Owen said the UK's parental permission strategy was successful "urgent request of an overhaul to acceptable with the world of moving parents' lives".

"The UK's parental permission strategy has fallen acold down astir comparable countries," she added.

Her comments travel arsenic a caller study by her House of Commons committee recovered that a maximum of 2 weeks' paternity permission is "completely retired of measurement with however astir couples privation to stock their parenting responsibilities" and "entrenches outdated sex stereotypes astir caring".

Explainer: How paternity permission successful the UK compares to different countries

The UK's complaint of parental wage is "completely retired of kilter with the outgo of living, has not kept gait with ostentation and is acold beneath rates successful astir comparable countries", the study states.

The Women and Equalities Committee has urged the authorities to see raising paternity wage to the level of maternity wage during the archetypal six weeks, which equals 90% of someone's mean earnings.

It besides called connected the authorities to either amend the Employment Rights Bill to legislate for a time 1 close to paid permission oregon perpetrate to "considering this captious alteration wrong its review" successful consultation with employers.

The study stated that moving parents "will beryllium fto down by a reappraisal that leads lone to tinkering astir the edges of the system".

In its report, the committee besides recommended a phased instauration of increases to statutory wage crossed the strategy to amended the rates for each moving parents up to 80% oregon much of mean net oregon the existent surviving wage.

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Additionally, it urged the authorities to see options for providing statutory paid permission for each self-employed moving fathers arsenic portion of its reappraisal of the parental permission system, arsenic the deficiency of proviso for self-employed fathers was "deeply unfair".

The study suggests considering the instauration of a paternity allowance for self-employed fathers and different parents, akin to the maternity allowance.

The upcoming reappraisal into the parental permission strategy indispensable analyse the relation and necessity of eligibility rules, with a presumption to "simplifying oregon removing the employment status, clip successful work and net criteria", the committee added.