Hundreds of dads march across UK calling for better paternity pay
Fathers push for six weeks’ paid leave at 90% salary as marches take place in four UK cities.
Hundreds of dads took to the streets on Saturday to call for better paternity pay, pushing prams through city centres in a coordinated day of action.
The Push for Paternity Leave marches took place in London, Manchester, Nottingham and Leeds, with fathers and families demanding more financial support in the early weeks after a baby is born.
At the heart of the protests is a call for six weeks of paternity leave paid at 90% of salary for working fathers and kinship carers, alongside 12 weeks of maternity pay at the same rate for all working mothers.
What are dads in the UK currently entitled to?
Right now, new fathers in the UK can take up to two weeks of paid parental leave.
Campaigners say this is not enough to properly support families, especially in the crucial early days after birth. They are also calling for employers to publish their parental leave policies, arguing that greater transparency would help parents make informed decisions about work and childcare.
In London, protesters gathered in Trafalgar Square holding signs reading “equality starts at home”, “dads are caregivers too”, and “fund fatherhood”. Chants of “we believe, equal leave” and “six weeks pay, no delay” echoed through the crowd as families stopped for photos.
‘It causes lots of problems for dads’
Errol Murray, founder of parenting organisation Leeds Dads, spoke at the Leeds march about the impact limited leave can have on families.
“It causes lots of problems for dads,” he told ITV News.
“If there's a traumatic birth, the dad might not be able to be available to support the mum, the mum might feel lost, alone, unsupported.”
It creates rifts between parents before the baby is even a month old. So it's really important that families get the best start in having a family life.
Campaigners say that without adequate leave, many fathers return to work before families have had time to adjust, placing additional pressure on mothers during recovery and early bonding.
The impact on relationships and careers
Alex Trippier, host of the podcast Be a Happier Parent, attended the London protest and shared his own experience.
“I thought I was a really great hands on, involved dad, but my wife disagreed, and we used to have a lot of arguments,” he told ITV News.
“I started reading books about motherhood and it really made me appreciate how different the expectations are that we put on mums, to the ones we put on dads.
“That really starts early with this kind of messaging about what is a mums job - which is essentially everything - and what is a dad's job, which is to go to work and make more money, which then mum's have to go and do too.
“We have this complete structural imbalance and it is killing relationships and causing massive suffering for couples. It's this period where you should be on the same team, and people just aren't.”
Recent research by Parenting Out Loud and YouGov, which surveyed 2,000 parents, suggests many families are feeling that imbalance.
The findings show fathers are more than twice as likely as mothers to say they share parenting equally. Almost half of dads, 49%, described their household as equal, compared with 21% of mums.
The research also highlights the career impact on women. More than half of mothers, 53%, said their careers had been negatively affected after having children, compared with 13% of fathers. Nearly one in eight mothers reported leaving paid work altogether.
What changes are being proposed?
Those marching on Saturday are asking for:
- Six weeks of paternity leave paid at 90% of salary for working fathers and kinship carers
- 12 weeks of maternity pay at 90% of salary for all working mothers
- A requirement for employers to publish their parental leave policies
Campaigners argue that better paid leave would give families more flexibility, support maternal recovery, and allow both parents to build strong bonds with their baby from the start.
From April this year, new laws came into effect granting unpaid parental leave from the first day in a new job. The government has said this will give an additional 1.5 million parents increased flexibility to share childcare responsibilities.
However, some campaigners believe more comprehensive reform is needed. Last year, the chair of the Women and Equalities Committee said the UK has one of the “worst statutory leave offers for fathers and other parents in the developed world”.
For many of the parents marching this weekend, the message was simple, that early family life works best when both parents are supported to be present.
As the chants in Trafalgar Square made clear, for these dads, equal leave is about more than policy. It is about starting family life as a team.
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Ruairidh is the Digital Lead on MadeForMums. He works with a team of fantastically talented content creators and subject-matter experts on MadeForMums.