THE EQUAL Opportunities Commission has urged prime minister Tony Blair to set an example to new dads and take time off work when wife Cherie gives birth this spring.
This has been possible since mid-December when new legislation came into force allowing fathers to take up to three months’ unpaid paternity leave in the child’s first five years.
But while a week is a long time in politics, some travel industry dads can hardly bear to leave the office for a day, never mind three months.
The law here compares badly with Sweden where new fathers get 10 days’ leave when a child is born and another month within the child’s first 18 months, both on 80% of salary.
But even more important are all those little jobs that are part of having a baby.
Avro chairman Fabio Mantegazza said:”I was happy not to be involved with nappies.
“I took a day off when my daughter Georgia was born, arranged for a maternity nurse to be at home when my wife left hospital and let them get on with it. It worked well and allowed me to continue with my busy workload.”
Aon Suretravel managing director James Beagrie added: “I looked after our two boys while my wife was in labour and then stayed at home for a day when she came out of hospital but I was glad to get back to work.
“I’m good at offering emotional support but the last thing my wife needed when our third son was born was an enthusiastic amateur getting in her way.”
Airtours gives new fathers five days’ paid paternity leave on top of holiday allowance. Sales, marketing and development director Ed Sims will be taking the full week when his second child is born in early March, as he did at the birth of his daughter.
“It is incredibly important. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” he said. “New dads have more of a support role with a lot of running around, but I couldn’t imagine not being there.” However, Sims has no plans to take three months away from work.
“New babies are expensive,” he pointed out. “But apart from the money, I would be nervous about taking that long out of the office.”
Bridge the World sales director Bruce Rose was lucky as his wife gave birth to son Elliott in December just before the long Christmas and New Year holidays so he chalked up three weeks away from work without taking much holiday. He said under normal circumstances, he would have taken one week.
“I loved the time off and would take three months, even unpaid, if the company could cope but it would mean a lot of extra work for others and would not be practical.”
To solve that problem, Paul Hudson, now operations manager at Neilson Ski, quit his job at Cosmos where he had just been given a directorship to spend seven months at home when his son was born. And he said he would do it again. “There’s always another job,” he added.
But Sunvil Holidays managing director Noel Josephides, who caused outrage in the past with his opposition to women taking maternity leave and then not returning to work, is unhappy with the new legislation.
“Anyone who is keen on their career will take as little time off as possible,” he said. “I have four children and it would never have crossed my mind to take time from work.
“If an employee asked for three months, I would suggest he takes it in the form of two to three days a week. Three months is a long time in travel and he would lose touch.”