6 months Paternity Leave announced

Fathers will be able to take up to 3 months paid (SMP £123 per week) and 3 months unpaid paternity leave for children due on or after 03 April 2011. The father effectively takes the final three months of maternity leave due to the mother, provided she returns to work.
The Government intends to have the legislation in place before the coming General Election, to give ‘families more choice and flexibility in how they balance work and care of children’ and enable fathers to play a bigger part in bring up their children.
It is expected that only 4-8% of those eligible will take the new paternity leave and that only 1% of small firms will be affected.
Meanwhile the Federation of Small Businesses is concerned that small businesses will be badly affected, for example ‘having one out of a workforce of four means a quarter of your staff being out of action’.