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HR Magazine request: Exclusive comments wanted on parental leave updates

ended 12. January 2026

HR Magazine request: 

We are actually currently working on a story about parental leave, and I wanted to see if you’d be able to help provide exclusive comments?

We’re looking for around 150 words.

This follows: Millions of workers who were previously denied time off for the birth of their child will become eligible for new day one rights to parental leave from April, through measures being laid in Parliament today (Monday 12 January). 

The changes, which stem from the recently passed Employment Rights Act, will see parents no longer be forced to make the heart-wrenching choice between being there for the first weeks of their child’s life or going back to work to avoid losing their job.  

An additional 32,000 more dads per year will be able to access Paternity Leave immediately, as a mother would with maternity leave. 

You can read more here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/stronger-parental-leave-rights-to-give-millions-of-working-families-the-security-they-deserve 

We’d particularly like thoughts on:

  • Reaction to this data.
  • How should HR/employers prepare for implementation in April?

Responses by 1.30pm.

3 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Kate Underwood
Founder & Chief People Strategist at Kate Underwood HR and Training
Day-one parental leave is a win for families, and a bit of a slap in the face for employers still winging it with a shared calendar and “we’ll see what we can do.
From April, paternity leave and unpaid parental leave become day-one rights. No more waiting months before you’re “allowed” to be a parent. The extra 32,000 dads a year gaining access immediately is great news, but for small businesses, it means more short-notice absences and increased pressure on managers to handle requests properly. And let’s be honest: the pay is still not great. In real life, lots of parents will use annual leave to top it up and make it work, unless they’re on minimum wage, where you can’t afford that luxury. Get ready now. Update your policies, build a simple request and handover process, and train managers to respond consistently. One sloppy comment can turn into a discrimination claim fast.
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Premium
Lee Chambers
CEO at Male Allies UK
It's great to see parental leave being made more accessible, given we are still in a country where almost 1 in 3 fathers take no leave when their child is born. Giving all men access to caregiving and space to bond with their child and support the mother benefits everyone. Having benefited from extended paternity leave myself, and also ran a business, I can appreciate both the benefits and challenges this can present. However, I see making parental leave more accessible as a worthwhile investment in the next generation, reducing barriers to a more equal workplace and allowing men to have the space to care. And at Male Allies UK, we see the benefits of this every day. Men really care, and can be caregivers too.
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Colette Mason
AI Ethics Consultant at Clever Clogs AI
This policy sounds brilliant on paper, but HR needs to ask the uncomfortable questions. With unemployment high, will employees actually feel safe taking leave (even unpaid leave) when colleagues are being laid off? The optics alone could create guilt and fear that undermines the entire point.

SMEs need to invest in basic AI systems that make part-time and flexible working genuinely productive by reducing the time to get back into the swing of tasks. Meeting summaries, email assessment,workflow handovers, automated catch-up briefs. Tools that cost 100s, not 1000s. Let's prove flexibility doesn't mean chaos and losses.

32,000 more dads are accessing leave, which is progress. But SMEs are reeling from NICs and NMW increases. When do the policies that make employers feel supported kick in?

HR's job isn't just implementing compliance. It's building systems that make these rights sustainable for both workers and businesses, or we'll just breed resentment on both sides.