More and more fathers are missing out on paternity
paybecause they are self employed, new figures from the TUC
suggest.
The research found that of the 625,000 men who became
fathersin 2016, more than 157,000 did not qualify for statutory
paternity pay becauseof their working arrangements.
Statutory paternity pay for men amounts to just £140.98
aweek, which the TUC claim, is too low for many low-paid fathers to
be able totake any time off at all.
'It's really important fordads to be able to spend
time at home with their families when they have a newbaby,'
commented the generalsecretary of the Trades Union Congress Frances
O'Grady.
'But too many fathers aremissing out because they don't
qualify, or because they can't afford to use theirleave.
We'd like to see all dadsbeing given a right to longer,
better-paid leave when a child is born, and forthis to be a day-one
right.
When parents share caring responsibilities it
helpsstrengthen relationships and makes it easier for mothers to
continue theircareers.'
The TUC want the government to increase statutory
paternitypay to at least minimum wage levels.
They also want a paternity allowance to be established
forfathers who are not eligible for statutory paternity
pay.
根据英国劳工联合会（TUC）进行的一项调查表明，那些自主创业的父亲们由于工作性质的原因将无法取得陪产工资。研究数据表明，2016年中晋升为父亲的62.5万名男性中，有超过15.7万人由于工作性质而无权获得法定的陪产工资。
在陪产期间，这些父亲们根本没有精力和时间再去做另一份工作，法定陪产工资为每周140.98欧元，这对于新生父亲们来说实在有些低。
劳工会秘书长Grady提到，陪伴新生宝宝和家庭对于男人们来讲是非常重要的，但是好多父亲都因为陪产工资太低导致他们无法负担家庭开销而错失了这个机会。我们都希望所有的父亲能够在陪产期间获得更好的工资待遇以及更长的假期，这样他们才有精力和时间给予孩子们更好的陪伴，这对于一个家庭来说是非常重要的。
当父母共同承担养育和照顾孩子的责任时，这对于夫妻间的关系和整个家庭都有很大的益处，这也能给母亲们继续自己事业创造更多的机会。
英国劳工联合会希望政府能够将法定陪产工资提高到最低工资水平，他们还希望政府能够对那些没有资格获取陪产工资的父亲们提供一些陪产津贴。
翻译：刘筱晨
来源：
http://www.hrreview.co.uk/hr-news/self-employment-means-fathers-miss-paternity-pay/105015