Only one in 172 fathers are taking Additional Paternity Leave (APL), according to a new analysis by the TUC.
The analysis of official figures shows that of the 285,000 dads eligible to take APL just 1,650 (0.6%) did so in 2011/12.
Under APL a father is able to take up to 26 weeks leave and 19 weeks pay when his partner has ended her maternity leave, no earlier than 20 weeks after the birth of the baby.
However, the TUC believes men are not taking advantage of it because the statutory rate of pay for APL is just £136 a week and is almost never topped up by employers. In contrast the first two weeks of Paternity Leave, which is nearly always topped up by employers, is taken up by the majority of fathers.
The TUC has called for Paternity Leave and pay to be extended from two weeks to six weeks. It says that paying it at 90% of father/partners' average earnings could be introduced as an amendment to the forthcoming Children and Families Bill.
Under that Bill, the government is introducing a system of Shared Parental Leave and Pay to replace APL from 2015. This will allow parents to take leave on a more flexible basis - a move welcomed by the TUC. However, the government anticipates that only between 2 - 8% of fathers will use this because it continues to be paid at such a low statutory rate.
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