Paternity Leave

[Govangirl]

Aye, and why just men? Surely women would love to have a year off with pay? Regardless of gender, this crackpot idea is just not going to work.

[SARID]

How times have changed !! When my children were born in the sixties, the husband (no "partners " then ) was the breadwinner, and went to work to provide for the family. The great majority of women,regardless of qualifications, were at home for quite a few years, seeing to all things domestic, and looking after the children.Many men were reluctant to be seen pushing a pram, and paternity leave was unheard of!
If a house was bought,the mortgage allowed was assessed on the husband's earnings only. Once the rules changed and the wife's earnings were taken into account, that's when the house prices started to rise,and Mothers started to run themselves ragged, coping with it all.

[numberplease]

My experience of husband`s paternity leave was this......
My first child was born in 1963, I came home from hospital after 8 days, on a very cold December afternoon, in a taxi (a great luxury at the time). When we got into the house, my husband lit the coal fire, and within the space of about 10 minutes he`d left to go back to work! Similar occurrances also happened with the other 4 births, and it was thought perfectly normal back then, and we all survived.

[Hume]

I haven't read anywhere what Clegg is proposing so can someone tell me what he means by 'paid' time off. I'm assuming he means by the State and not by the employer, as is the current legislation for the permitted two weeks?

I can't see a great many new fathers taking a year off on Paternity pay alone. Seems to me it would only be those already on benefits, those with existing income of around the current level of Paternity pay (non tax payers) and those with substantial wealth who could to do this anyway i.e not the vast majority.