Over the last few years, Europe has made significant changes to their paternity leave. This transition marks an increasing recognition of just how important fatherhood is to the foundation of our youngest children. Countries like France, Sweden, Denmark, and Spain have implemented reforms that allow new fathers to take more time off work, enhancing their roles in family life. Today’s article explains what parental leave is, what’s happened recently, and why it matters. It shows the journeys of fathers like Antoine and Jamie Fox as they find their way in this new world.
France has recently taken steps to improve take-up of paternity leave entitlements. Fathers will benefit from more flexible opportunities to take paternity leave. With regard to the changes that he and his wife recently benefitted from, Antoine has a very optimistic view of such things. Under the new regulations, it will soon be easier for dads to take statutory paternity leave. They will no longer have to be hired by a firm for 26 consecutive weeks. This reform aims to make parental leave more accessible, allowing fathers to engage more meaningfully during their child’s early years.
One of the most interesting components of France’s new policy is that it enables parents to defer parental leave. They can only wait no more than 13 weeks before their child turns nine years old. This flexibility gives families the opportunity to tailor their leave to their specific needs and the ever-changing circumstances of their growing families.
In the United Kingdom, their approaches are much stingier. New fathers and second parents in full-time employment are entitled to up to two weeks of paternity leave. Most of them consider this period truly not enough. Jamie Foxx has a three-year-old daughter named Kiara, and he’s currently anticipating the arrival of his second child with great excitement. He doesn’t forget the roadblocks he faced when Kiara was born. He recalled that experience as “incredibly difficult” with the paternity leave he had access to at that time.
I guess the most vivid thing that pops into my mind was the crying.… my daughter was obviously in need of support and my wife was obviously struggling and tired. That’s become impossible,” Jamie said, highlighting the immense pressures that new parents experience under recent UK policies.
Sweden provides one of the most inclusive parental leave models in all of Europe. Self-employed parents can exchange parental leave days. Days may be shared between parents, up to a total of 480 days. Importantly, they are guaranteed 90 days of leave for each parent. This brings both mothers and fathers closer to full engagement in the care of their children. Mattias, a thoughtful parent, used all six weeks of PTO when his son Otto was born. Now, he is planning to take an additional nine months of parental leave so that he can better support his growing family.
Denmark encourages active fatherhood via its paternity leave policies. André also recently took two weeks of parental leave immediately after the birth of his baby Miro. He chose to bank those last 11 weeks to use on the back end. This simple approach is very much in line with the cultural expectation in Denmark that fathers will be highly engaged early in family life.
In Spain, new papas have 16 full-pay weeks of paternity leave at full pay to care for a new child. Self-employed papas are eligible too! This new policy goes a long way in making Spain one of the top countries in Europe for parental leave provisions.
The UK’s paternity pay entitlement is only £187.18 a week or 90% of earnings, whichever is lower. Understandably, many dads believe that this is simply not enough to truly support them and their families during such an important period. Fathers can’t take the full leave, and money is the single biggest barrier,” said Alex Lloyd-Hunter, Senior Policy Officer at the Fawcett Society.
As countries throughout Europe move forward and change their paternity leave laws, the effects on family structure are revealed more and more. Octavio noted how the changes have influenced his experience as a father: “The extended quality time with Alicia allowed us to develop a strong bond that I believe wouldn’t have formed as deeply otherwise.” He continued, “I can definitely say that these changes have really made a huge impact.”
Antoine echoed similar sentiments by stating that fathers should be allowed to be more present during family life periods that enrich all relationships: “You’re not only connecting with your child, but you want to develop the family as a whole together.”
These dynamic policies are a step in the right direction—a step towards understanding that when it comes to early childhood development, fathers play a crucial role. But today, more and more countries are assessing and reworking their parental leave laws. Our hope is that one day, every father is able to spend quality time bonding with his children during those important early years.
