Only 204,000 fathers took paternity leave compared to 636,000 mothers who took maternity leave in 2021-22.

The low numbers of men taking paternity leave could be due to the extremely low level of pay available under the scheme. 

Statutory Paternity Pay in the UK is currently just £157 a week, an increase of only £20 since 2014. If paternity pay had kept up with inflation over that period, new fathers would now be entitled to £181 a week.

Given that men are still the main wage earners for the majority of families, seeing their pay cut to just £157 is not sustainable for many households. 

Find out more from our Employment Principal, Jon Taylor, in our latest update: https://bit.ly/3dywS2s