Council employee says statutory minimum is ‘not fair’ to new mothers as council set to roll out six weeks paternity leave from November
By Josef Steen, Local Democracy Reporter
A North London council worker has praised his bosses’ decision to extend paternity leave to all employees, as campaigners brand the statutory minimum allowance “a joke”.
Under Islington Council’s new policy, fathers, partners and adoptive parents working for the local authority will be entitled to six paternity leave at 90 per cent of their normal pay. The change is set to take effect from mid-November, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands.
Council Leader Una O’Halloran said she wanted colleagues to have more time with their partners and newborns to “build the foundations of family life”.
Weekly statutory paternity pay in England and Wales is £194.32, or 90 per cent of a person’s average weekly earnings – whichever is lower. Any money received by eligible employees is paid in the same way as their wages, for example, monthly or weekly.
Islington’s enhanced offer means new fathers will be entitled to the same level of pay as new mothers’ statutory entitlement for the first six weeks of maternity leave. One colleague who is soon to benefit from the change is 33-year-old Jake Shiels, a deputy manager in the council’s planning department. His wife, Hettie, is pregnant with the couple’s second child.
Speaking to the LDRS, Shiels said: “Parenthood is the most amazing thing ever, but those first few weeks are so difficult. With lack of sleep and so many emotions it’s very draining physically. To have that mental space to give all your time to your child is really important.”
Two weeks ‘doesn’t feel fair’
When his first child was born, Shiels topped up his statutory leave allowance by taking two weeks annual leave in the knowledge he would need it. “I had to be quite frugal throughout the year,” he said.
“The two weeks flew by. When I went back to work, my wife was picking up the childcare, and she was exhausted. You’re leaving your partner to deal with pretty much everything. It didn’t feel very fair to me.”
Islington is one of the few local authorities whose paternity leave allowance outstrips the statutory minimum, according to grassroots campaigners The Dad Shift. The group says that according to data obtained from 150 local councils in England and Wales under a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, just 16 councils go beyond the statutory two weeks.
In London, Ealing Council’s entitlement has been eight weeks at full pay since September 2026. Meanwhile, Hounslow Council offers four weeks at full pay, with no qualifying period, to be taken at any time within a year of the child’s birth.
Shiels said fathers and carers like him were being “left behind” compared to other industries. He said: “You can get a bit envious. Hopefully this can be rolled out at other councils, because it’s a benefit for everyone.”
The Dad Shift, founded in September 2024, aims to reform the UK’s “woeful” paternity leave, but also to promote active fatherhood in order to project a “more positive vision of modern masculinity”. The group has given evidence to a parliamentary inquiry on paternity and shared parental leave. The government is currently engaged in a review of the statutory allowance, expected to conclude in early 2027.
Cllr O’Halloran said Islington was “not waiting for the government to tell us to do the right thing”.
Praising the council’s policy, George Gabriel, co-founder of The Dad Shift, said: “Two weeks might work for a holiday, but the idea you’re going to support your partner as she recovers from birth, bond with your baby, or begin figuring out what it means to be a father in that time is a joke.”
