Fathers must be given drastically improved rights or the Government’s shared parental leave policy risks failing entirely, experts have warned.
The policy, three years old this week, is meant to allow fathers to be more involved in their children’s early years and mothers to return to the workplace sooner.
But the latest official estimates suggest that as little as 2pc of eligible parents have so far taken up the offer, with a lack of awareness and equal pay issues being blamed.
The Government launched a £1.5m advertising campaign in February to boost the prospects of a policy that employment experts say could help fix the gender pay gap at many firms. But the lack of pay parity is being flagged...