Charity warns over rise of workplace 'fatherhood penalty'

Employers risk creating a substantial "fatherhood penalty" in the workplace if they fail to allow men to play a more active role in childcare, warns a family charity.

Working Families said research revealed "nearly half of working fathers would like a less stressful job so they can spend more time caring for their children," reports the BBC.

It adds: "About a third would take a pay cut to achieve a better work-life balance… a third of fathers said they regularly felt burnt out, and one in five were working extra hours."

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Unless employers do more to facilitate a better "work-life fit", said the charity, fathers who wanted to play an active role in their children's lives would face a "fatherhood penalty" - following a career below their skill set and reducing their earnings.

The BBC adds that the Institute of Directors (IoD) "agreed with the charity, saying bosses should design jobs that let both men and women work flexibly".

Adrienne Burgess, chief executive of the Fatherhood Institute, said one problem currently is the shared parental leave system, which was designed to help prevent discrimination against mothers taking maternity leave.

However, in part because parental leave pay rarely offers the same enhanced rates above the statutory minimum, it has seen very little take up by working fathers.