‘Self-employed dads pay in – but get zero paternity. It’s appalling, we need it’
In the UK, new fathers get two weeks of statutory paternity leave at £184.03 a week – but this is unavailable for fathers who are self-employed
Self-employed fathers are calling for greater paternity rights arguing they collectively pay more than £1bn in National Insurance tax as revealed by new research but do not receive any paid leave after the birth of their children.
In the UK, new fathers get two weeks of statutory paternity leave at £184.03 a week – but this is unavailable for fathers who are self-employed.
Self-employed mothers are eligible for 39 weeks of statutory maternity allowance of up to £184.03 a week, depending on the amount of National Insurance contributions paid before their baby’s due date.
Darren Scotland, 44, who lives in Leeds, is a self-employed designer and illustrator, while his wife Sarah works in education. They have two children – Layla, 10 and Rex, five. He says he got nothing in paid paternity leave for either children.
“The circumstances didn’t change whatsoever in between Layla being born and her brother arriving five years later,” he said. “There had been some developments in terms of maternity and paternity leave and when Rex was born, parents were able to share their leave.
“But this didn’t apply if the father was self-employed. My wife went back to work after eight or nine months following Rex arriving. She had looked into trying to switch the last three months of statutory maternity leave so I could take it instead. But because I was self-employed, it wasn’t allowed.”

Mr Scotland said he was only able to take time off after the birth of each of his children because he and his wife saved up to prepare for it.
“Self-employed dads pay into the system just like everybody else, so why do we not get the same benefits after having a baby? Statutory maternity and paternity pay is not great anyway and certainly isn’t a life changing amount of money. But it still helps.
“It just feels like a very antiquated and old fashioned policy. Me and my wife are mindful that we both want to be present in our children’s lives. But when one of you gets paid time off and the other doesn’t, it is very difficult.”
Sam Smith, 34, a self-employed carpenter, and his wife Jessica, an NHS cancer specialist, had their first daughter Elodie seven months ago. Sam could only afford to take a week-and-a-half off after her birth.
“I tried making it two weeks, but the money was too tight,” he said. “My wife is on maternity leave and I knew after three months, she would be on half pay.
“As much as we tried to save in advance, everything is going up in the world and we need both incomes coming into the home.
“So it affected my enjoyment of being a dad. The first week of paternity leave was great, but the second week started to weigh on me heavily and I kept thinking: ‘I’ve got to get back to work’. At the end of the day, I have a business to run and need to bring money into the household.”

Self-employed fathers not feeling as though then can take the time off also has an impact on mothers, Mr Smith said. His daughter was born tongue-tied and NHS pressures meant they ended up paying privately to get her diagnosed and treated.
But during this time “my wife had to fend for herself,” he said. “I think self employed dads should at least get something. The fact we don’t even get statutory paternity is appalling.
“It affects the decision to have another child. We have said we won’t be having another baby any time soon as we will now be playing catch up [with finances].”
Campaign group The Dad Shift criticised the lack of statutory leave or support for new fathers after their research revealed 942,000 self employed fathers are in the position of receiving no paid paternity leave or support despite paying £1.1 billion in National Insurance contributions into the system.

The group, which is campaigning for a law change on statutory paternity leave and to support men in asking employers for enhanced paternity leave, said other countries including Italy, Belgium, Sweden, Slovakia and Finland offer the same benefit to self-employed fathers they do to those in employment.
The group argues that around 39,000 self-employed men in the UK have a baby each year, with each of these new fathers paying an average of £1,171 in National Insurance contributions.
George Gabriel, co-founder of The Dad Shift, said: “If Labour wants to prove they’re on the side of working families, they can start by closing this loophole, one which leaves self employed dads shelling out £1.1 billion a year without a penny back when their babies arrive.”
A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: “We are making paternity leave and unpaid parental leave day one rights as part of our Employment Rights Bill, and are also carrying out a review of wider statutory parental leave to ensure it offers the best possible support to working families.”
“We recognise the issues campaigners raise. However, the current parental leave system focuses on supporting employed parents who need specific protections, while self-employed people have more flexibility and autonomy over when and how they work and the time they can have off.”
How does the UK compare with other countries?
Along with being the least generous in Europe, the UK’s paternity leave is among the worst of the world’s richest countries.
Norway allocates 15 weeks of parental leave exclusively for dads – and it is paid at more than 90 per cent of the average salary. In the UK, less than a fifth of the average salary is paid.
In Sweden, leave for new fathers is a normal part of society. Parents in Sweden are given 480 days of paid parental leave between them.
They have the flexibility to split that how they like, but they both have 90 days reserved exclusively for them – if it is not used, it is lost.
The amount you get paid in Sweden is based on income. It is usually up to 80 per cent of your salary, but it is capped so it could be a bit less if you earn a high wage. Fathers account for about 30 per cent of all parental leave in Sweden.
People in Sweden pay far more tax than in the UK – but dads appear happy to pay as it can mean more time with their children.
Lithuania offers fathers 30 days of paternity leave paid at a rate of 77.58 per cent of regular earnings. Additional shared parental leave of up to 36 months, taken consecutively or incrementally, is also available. This child-raising benefit provides full pay for the first year and 70 per cent salary for the remaining two years – paid through social security.