Paid paternity leave for police officers in England and Wales will double, the Home Office has announced, after evidence emerged that officers who took time off to care for newborns faced ridicule and cultural pressure not to do so. The move raises questions about leave provision across the public sector and has prompted calls to extend similar reforms to the armed forces.
The home secretary has increased the amount of paid parental and adoption leave for officers from one week to two weeks’ full pay across all forces. The change brings fathers’ paid leave broadly into parity with mothers’ pay for the immediate postnatal period and follows reporting that exposed how taking paternity leave could be career-unfriendly in some forces.
Why ministers acted
The policy shift responds to evidence of inconsistent entitlements and stark differences in take-up where pay varied. Before the announcement, only a quarter of forces offered two weeks’ paternity leave at full pay. Others offered one week at full pay and a second week at statutory pay, which correlated with much lower uptake of the additional week.
- 25% of forces offered two weeks’ full pay prior to the change.
- Forces that offered the second week on statutory pay saw only 40% of officers take that week.
- Forces offering two weeks at full pay recorded a take-up of 88% for the second week.
- Civilian staff in the Metropolitan Police were previously entitled to three weeks of full-pay paternity leave.
“Police officers work tirelessly to protect the public, so it is right that new fathers are better supported to spend time with their families. By expanding police paternity leave, we are recognising the importance of family life.”
The policing minister said the change reflects the need to support officers in balancing work and family responsibilities. The reform follows reporting that some officers who attempted to use paternity leave faced being mocked or ostracised by colleagues, which discouraged them from taking advantange of their entitlement.
Wider consequences and campaigning
The upgrade to police paternity leave has intensified pressure for comparable improvements elsewhere in the public sector and the armed forces. Campaigners say leave arrangements across government remain patchy and inadequate for fathers, and some politicians are campaigning for significantly longer paid leave in the military.
One Conservative peer has tabled an amendment to the armed forces bill seeking to increase paternity leave for serving personnel to six weeks. The armed forces have cited unique operational pressures, including frequent separations, when considering changes to family leave policy; a government survey indicated that nearly 30% of service families experienced separations of more than three months in the last year.
Campaign group figures cited in the debate suggest overwhelming dissatisfaction among serving parents: a recently published survey of 450 serving parents found more than 95% agreed the current paternity offer was insufficient. Proponents argue that better-paid leave would improve family cohesion and recognition of the demands placed on service personnel.
What the figures show
| Provision before change | Typical take-up rate for second week |
|---|---|
| Two weeks’ full pay (25% of forces) | 88% |
| One week full pay + second week statutory pay (remainder) | 40% |
Ministers say standardising the entitlement across police forces will remove a financial disincentive and set a clearer cultural expectation that fathers can and should take time to bond with new children. Opponents of further expansion warn of budgetary and operational implications, particularly for the armed forces, where family separations and deployment cycles complicate leave arrangements.
The policy change for police is likely to fuel parliamentary and public debate on whether similar uniform increases in paid paternity leave should be extended across other public services. For now, police officers in England and Wales can expect the immediate extension to two weeks’ paid leave, a step ministers present as aligning family support with the job’s demands.
