South Yorkshire parents call for 'greater rights' around paternity leave
Protests are taking place in different parts of the UK today around the issue
Last updated 11th Jun 2025
Parents in South Yorkshire & North Derbyshire tell us two weeks 'isn't enough' paternity leave for new dads.
Protests are happening in the UK today around the issue - in an effort to increase statutory paternity leave from two weeks to six.
Sheffield dad Oli Carlisle took an extra two weeks of annual leave to make sure he had longer off when his son was born last year:
"I enjoyed the two weeks I had in addition to the paternity leave, but it would've been preferable to save that leave for doing something more enjoyable later in the year & to have more statutory leave.
"Two weeks just doesn't feel like enough. I'd be supportive of any changes to make it six weeks or maybe even longer than that."
Oli's wife Emma is backing the calls for dad's to get longer off:
"It was a C-section delivery for our baby, so the recovery time for me was a little bit longer perhaps than it would've been otherwise.
"So, the time that we had with my husband there was invaluable really for me.
"Simple things like being able to lift the baby was difficult for me.
"So, having him there for a little bit longer would've been brilliant, but he did what he could in the time he had."
In response, a Government spokesperson said:
“This Government is committed to making sure parents receive the best possible support to balance their work and home lives as part of our Plan to Make Work Pay.
“We know the parental leave system needs to be improved and will be carrying out a review to ensure it best supports working families, and through our Employment Rights Bill we will remove the 26-week continuity of service requirement for paternity leave.”