Give new dads the same job rights as mums, MP says

Chris Stringer moved from London to Swansea shortly before his son was born - but was then made redundant

New and expectant fathers should have the same protections from redundancy as mothers, a Labour MP has said.

Currently, mothers who are pregnant or on maternity leave have some legal protection from being made redundant - but fathers on paternity leave do not.

Speaking during a debate on the government's Employment Rights Bill, Lola McEvoy said that "lack of protection" means some fathers "can't even take what they're entitled to" when it comes to paternity leave.

A spokesperson for the government said it is carrying out a wider review of parental leave, including making paternity leave and unpaid parental leave day one rights, which employees qualify for on their first day of a new job.

Speaking during a debate on the Employment Rights Bill - dubbed the biggest upgrade to workplace rights in a generation - McEvoy said "dads taking paternity leave are left out" from the existing protections, leaving families vulnerable.

The only way fathers are currently protected from redundancy is if they opt to take shared parental leave. But analysis from campaign group The Dad Shift suggests that was used in fewer than 2% of all births last year.

Campaigners want the law to be changed to give fathers taking paternity leave enhanced protection from redundancy from the moment they tell their employer they are expecting a child, until the baby is 18 months old.

Fathers whose jobs are closing would be offered a suitable alternative vacancy if there is one.

"My generation and those younger than me are the keenest yet for more family time, but our primary concern has got to be paying the bills," McEvoy said.

Chris Stringer, from Swansea, said protection from losing his job would have been a huge help to him and his wife.

He was made redundant six weeks before his son Chester was born in August last year and hasn't been able to find full-time employment since.

Chris was made redundant six weeks before baby Chester was born last August

Chris said it destroyed the family's feelings of financial security ahead of the birth, as well as their hopes of buying a home.

"That life was gone, like that. Everything changed," he said.

He said it severely damaged his mental health too, which was made worse by the sleep deprivation of being a new parent.

"It was pretty rough, pretty dark at times and I had some quite scary thoughts," he said.

"I went through those thoughts at three in the morning, holding my child, just crying."

Although he has found part-time work in a shop, Chris said it won't be enough to fund childcare costs for him and his partner, who is having to return to work early to support the family.

"If there was a safety net there to keep us afloat for even just a little bit longer, it would have made a huge difference," he said.

'Our lives have been shaken up'

One woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, said her partner was made redundant when she was 36 weeks pregnant.

"I stayed awake at night crying because I was afraid of what was going to happen to my family," she said.

Two weeks later, the couple lost their baby daughter.

She said: "While we were at the hospital, he was responding to emails from the lawyers saying: 'We have just had a stillbirth.'"

She said her partner then had to look for work at the same time as supporting her.

"He didn't have time to process what had happened to us," she said.

"The whole of our lives have been shaken up."

He has since found a new job, but several months on he is still "in a very dark place".

"My partner is now battling his own fight while being in a new job where very few people know what has happened to him," she said.

"I'm asking for measures to be taken to protect men, protect fathers, protect women, protect mothers [and] protect babies' lives."

'Dads are left out'

The Dad Shift estimates roughly one in 60 new and expectant fathers in the UK were made redundant, dismissed or forced to leave their jobs due to poor treatment in the year to March 2024 - almost 3,700 people.

The Dad Shift's co-founder, George Gabriel, said the stories he hears are often "absolutely gut-wrenching".

He added the UK's statutory paternity leave of two weeks is the least generous in Europe and Labour has the "opportunity to put this right and for the party to prove they're on the side of working dads and families".

But Pregnant Then Screwed, a charity which supports the rights of pregnant women and new mothers, said the current law does not always stop mothers being fired.

Analysis published last month by the charity estimates that up to 74,000 women a year lose their jobs after getting pregnant or while on maternity leave – up by more than a third since 2016.

Pregnant Then Screwed founder Joeli Brearley said she had "long suspected things are getting worse, not better".

A spokesperson for the government said: "We are making paternity leave and unpaid parental leave day one rights as part of our Employment Rights Bill, and are also carrying out a review of wider statutory parental leave to ensure it offers the best possible support to working families."

Details of help and support with stillbirth are available at BBC Action Line.