Soundbite: Government announces review of parental leave and pay

On 19 September 2025, the UK Government published its response to the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) report on paternity leave and shared parental leave. The response addresses the WEC’s recommendations and outlines the Government’s approach to reform, which includes the undertaking of a wide-ranging review of parental leave and pay.

Key Points from the Government Response

1. Review of Parental Leave and Pay

• All parental leave and pay entitlements, including statutory maternity and paternity leave and pay, are under review.
• The review aims to improve women’s labour market outcomes, reduce the gender pay gap, and address the “motherhood penalty”.

2. Day One Rights

• The Employment Rights Bill (ERB) will introduce day one rights to unpaid paternity and unpaid parental leave, making these available to more fathers, partners, and parents.
• Statutory pay (Statutory Paternity Pay/Statutory Maternity Pay) will not become a day one right due to practical and financial challenges for employers, but the review will consider the system holistically.

3. Length and Flexibility of Paternity Leave

• The ERB will allow paternity leave to be taken after shared parental leave.
• The review will consider how to support working families and promote economic growth by enabling parents to remain in work and progress their careers.

4. Support for Self-Employed Parents

• The current system generally excludes self-employed parents (except for maternity allowance).
• The review will consider whether the needs of self-employed and other currently ineligible groups are being met.

5. Addressing Cultural and Societal Barriers

• The review will focus on shifting social and gender norms in childcare.
• The Government will engage with employers, trade unions, and advocacy groups, and will require employers to include parental leave policies in gender pay gap action plans under the ERB.

6. Reform of Shared Parental Leave (SPL)

• The Government acknowledges low take-up of SPL and will consider the WEC’s recommendations, including simplifying eligibility and increasing flexibility, as part of the review.

7. Discrimination Protection

• The adequacy of legal protections for fathers taking paternity leave, including redundancy protection, will be reviewed.

8. Kinship Carers and Other Family Types

• The review will consider support for kinship carers, single parents, and parents of multiples, drawing on international models and recent pilot schemes.

The Government’s response is largely a commitment to further review rather than immediate reform. There are no firm commitments to increase statutory paternity pay or introduce day one pay rights at this stage, which has attracted criticism. The review, launched in July 2025, is expected to last 18 months, so save for the immediate changes stated below, substantive changes are unlikely before 2027.

The immediate changes to the ERB are that statutory paternity leave and unpaid parental leave will become day one rights for eligible employees and the restrictions on taking paternity leave after shared parental leave will be removed.

Employers should continue to monitor developments to parental leave and pay as the review progresses, and we will continue to do the same.

If you would like further information about parental leave and/or pay, please do contact a member of the team.