The report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found that take up would increase to eighty per cent if fathers were paid as much as new mothers.

Under current rules, fathers are entitled to two weeks paid leave following the birth of their child.

Those claiming the right get �102.80 a week, or 90% of average weekly earnings if this is less, for two weeks.

What do you think about the report? Are the current rates of paternity pay discouraging you from taking your statutory leave? Would you take paternity leave under the current conditions? Have you been put off taking leave?

This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

The following comments reflect the balance of opinion we have received:

I agree with those contributors who say that there should be no paternity leave. If you want time off, you use your annual leave entitlement. If you want children, you should ensure that you have enough money to raise them without asking the State for assistance and if you cannot afford it, stay childless. The State does not help us buy a house or a car, or to go on holiday, or buy a season ticket to travel to work, so why should it help us raise a family?
Richard Allen, Letchworth, Hertfordshire

How incredibly selfish those without children are. It is because of these misfits that our population is ageing and we can no longer afford to pay pensions. Our country needs children so that in the future there is a workforce that can pay taxes to keep our elderly in some form of comfort. As it is we are having to import huge numbers of people to make up for the shortfall. So enough of this "parents get enough from the state", parents are at least contributing something to the future of our country.
Anon, UK

Although I think SPP is unrealistically low, it goes some way to improving working conditions for new fathers Sonia, Luton, UK

It's not just the baby that needs the father at home in the first few weeks, it's the mother too. Imagine having this life changing experience and having to go through it on your own. New mums need support from their partners/husbands, emotional and financial. Unfortunately, not everyone is in a well paid enough job to be able to take unpaid leave and although I think SPP is unrealistically low, it goes some way to improving working conditions for new fathers.
Sonia, Luton, UK

I am about to become a father for the first time in February and am having to take two weeks annual leave to take care of both mother and baby in the crucial bonding period, I do feel wronged by the amount of paternity pay and support for hard working honest tax paying citizens like myself and my wife. I do see they have given a "token" effort of about �100 per week but really, who can live off that in this day in age? It's unrealistic and an insult.
J Sanchez, Milton Keynes

Yes, let's give ourselves lots of new benefits. Then, when our employer decides that it would be cheaper if our job was done by someone in Eastern Europe, India, China etc we can say how it's all so unfair!
Alan, Perth, Scotland

The state needs to stop funding couples having children, face it if you have kids they are still going to living at home when they are 40, because there is nowhere to live in the age of buy-to-let investors and averages houses prices costing 7 times the average wage.
Steve, Southport

We're expecting our first in January. I get full pay for one week, then a second at the pittance of �102.80. I'm planning to take the second week as holiday, rather than lose out at a time when we need as much money as possible. My wife and I work as a team, and I'm taking paternity not just to get to know or "bond" with our baby, but also to help and support my wife.
Nathan, Lichfield, UK

Give the fathers a break, let them share the sleepless nights with the mother, let them bath the child and let him fall head over heals in love. Lee, Chester, UK

I find some of this comments very short sighted and almost bitter in nature. I am a father of three and a serving soldier, currently away from my family again. Though I do not loss money for the paternity leave that I am granted I would happily give up my pay for that precious time with my new born children.

Others however are in a less fortunate position than myself and therefore the financial constrains and the stress that this period would cause if their only option was to take it as annual leave or unpaid could cause enormous problems for that family unit. Yes women have looked after children for free but we also use to walk around half naked eating berries off the floor. We are a nation that works hard but its favourite pass time is complaining. Give the fathers a break, let them share the sleepless nights with the mother, let them bath the child and let him fall head over heals in love.
Lee, Chester, UK

I wish someone would tell me why parents should get everything for nothing. Why does everyone else who works and pays hefty taxation prop up those who have kids?
T Newman, Bournemouth UK

Any one who saw the excellent "Whose baby" last night will appreciate the lack of rights fathers have. women can't have it both ways: complaining of discrimination when they leave to have children, and then complaining when anyone else would like to give them the chance to go back to work
Ed, London UK

To Carolyn, England: Most fathers have a very good idea about handling babies, we change nappies, bath, feed, play, etc. I'm glad to see that your comments show that sexism doesn't exist anymore (not). The first two weeks after the birth of a child there are usually two people that need looking after not just one.
Chris, Nottingham, UK

In response to Andrew, London. I don't work just for the fun of it! I'd love to be able to spend all my time with my family, but unfortunately if I did, we would be homeless and without food. Statutory paternity pay is a joke. It's such a tiny percentage of pay, it might as well be nothing.
Doug, Wrexham, Uk

A new system should be developed whereby the maternity/paternity leave entitlement of 'x' weeks at 'x'% average pay can be taken by either partner or partially by each partner. This would offer more flexibility to the parents and go some way towards negating employers economic bias against employing women of child-bearing age as men would be equally entitled (although admittedly less likely) to take paternity leave.
Karen, Edinburgh

I know - let's run a competition on how we make the UK even less competitive than it is now! This is socialist nanny state politics at its worst. I have 3 sons all of whom I have spent a lot of time with throughout their lives. I got home from work usually in time to feed and bath them, read them stories, taught them all about the mysteries of Lego, model railways and fishing. None of that entailed more time off from work. They've all grown up to be normal, well adjusted human beings and don't accuse me of neglecting them when they were six weeks old. The world has gone bonkers!
Dick, Scotland

What is wrong with evenings and weekends? And what is wrong with using annual leave if money is the main issue?. Also, if dropping from a salary to �102 a week is going to make such a huge difference to you over 1 or two weeks then should you be having children in the first place? I think there is a bigger issue here and that is the ability of couples to afford children generally.
Philip Harrison, Tadworth, Surrey

Why all this nonsense? When my wife was having our 3 children I had an arrangement that I would take two weeks of my annual leave Ron Jupp, Ilford England

Why all this nonsense? When my wife was having our 3 children I had an arrangement that I would take two weeks of my annual leave starting on whatever date the child was born. There was never any problem for me or my employer. I received full holiday pay and was at home to help with the new baby. Normal holiday arrangements would be disrupted in that year anyway because of the new arrival, so there was no problem.
Ron Jupp, Ilford England

Some of the comments on here are shocking. Some people obviously have no idea about how important parenting is in our society. In a country obsessed with the antisocial behaviour of young people, encouraging good parenting should be a priority. Also, families should be able to choose how they split parental leave, whether it is paid or unpaid. Finally fathers should be encouraged to be at home with mom and baby as much as possible in the early days. It is very easy for the relationship between mother and father to suffer once a baby comes along and this relationship is crucial for the wellbeing of the child. Also, it can be hard for fathers to bond with new born babies and if anything they should have more contact with the baby than mom, as the natural bond between mother and child grows quickly and strongly, particularly if mom breast feeds.
Michael Jordan, Birmingham, England

Can anybody advise what the entitlements are on a European basis? When I lived in the UK it was at that time 1 week, now 2. In Ireland I received three days. Is that right?
Graeme Turnbull, Limerick, Ireland

One sideways advantage of consistent ma/paternity leave is that one reason for discrimination of women is reduced. As it is, the woman is a more expensive risk than her husband because she will cost more in maternity leave. Her husband, however, is not away as long and costs less when away. Make the law equal and there is no avenue for those wishing to discriminate to justify themselves. Given that this will discriminate against the married, I'd like to see an entitlement to paternity leave be made for any employer. A career break, as it were. Allow any employee to take two breaks in their lifetime for whatever reason, or cash that in at the end of their working life as extra pension rights. Then 1) There is no case for discrimination on justifiable cost grounds 2) Those men who remain single are just as great a potential cost as married people 3) Singles won't be subsidising the benefits they are not able to take.
Mark, Exeter, UK

Yet again we hear a sob story about people not getting enough money from the government. If you can't afford a child, then don't have one - stop expecting the rest of us to subsidise you!
Mike, Solihull, UK

Men should just get more money than women, so women can give up work if they want Ian, UK

Men should just get more money than women, so women can give up work if they want.
Ian, UK

I had to take my holidays for time off. The father is responsible for the baby in the first place so they know what was going to happen, and should not be paid to be off.
Neil Small, Scotland

I feel that a number of comments are not with fathers and suggest that if you're lucky enough to become one later in your life then you will realise the real value of paternity. Its being able to spend those first few weeks with your new family.
Steve , Welwyn Garden City, England

Paternity pay is only one of the issues that are demonstrated in the relationships between employers and employees. The sooner the population learns to value people as a resource and not as units of productive capacity the better.
Ruth Hunt, Birmingham UK

What is wrong with fathers taking holiday time? There is this inconsistent message coming across that the government keeps hitting us with tax, which we hate, but they should pay for everything. Maybe if people didn't have their hands out waiting for the government to provide for them, a lot more of their hard earned money would stay in their own pockets! And yes, I have 2 kids, and a husband who has no issue at all with taking some of his annual holiday to spend time with them!
Rachel, Minnesota, USA (ex Northern Ireland)

There should be no doubt anymore that it is invaluable for new fathers to spend some time with their babies. Perhaps the fact that "most fathers have little idea about handling a baby" (as one poster here put it) is die to the fact that many fathers don't get to spend that quality time with their kids.
Rustam Roy, London, UK

Here's a novel idea - how about waiting until you can actually afford children before knocking them out and expecting those of us who don't want any to pick up the tab?
Steve, England

In answer to Chris and to describe Carolyn, the word for an anti-male sexist is Misandrist. The totally ignorant notion that men are incapable of child-care is offensive. By enforcing low levels of paternity pay the gov't effectively excludes fathers from family life, but that's ok, because given the supremacist attitudes displayed by some female commentators on this site that must be what women want.
Trevor, London UK

I think some people are missing the point. The newborn may not know whether the father is there or not, but the mother does. I intend taking my two week allowance and helping my wife all I can. Yes, we should get more than the current �102 but at least now we have the right to the time off.
Jose, Hitchin

I agree with the report. I was put off taking full paternity leave because of the financial penalty. I earn over �1000 a month which means that I would be loosing �300 during my paternity leave. I am now the only earner as my wife has decided not to return to work until our daughter goes to school. We can ill afford to loose such amounts. When Paternity leave was first announced I was looking forward to spending some time helping at home until I read the small print "�102.80 a week, or 90% of average weekly earnings (if this is less)". Come on lets have a level playing field and give us the 90% wage level.
Phil, Nottingham

Who benefits from this paternity leave? Graeme Findlay, London

Who benefits from this paternity leave? The baby is too young to understand and most fathers have little idea about handling a baby. It should be delayed until the child can benefit from it.
Carolyn, England

If couples decide to have a baby perhaps they should not depend on paternity leave and plan when they have a more stable situation.
Graeme Findlay, London

So will the rest of us who do all the extra work get anything extra? Probably not.
Dave, Ramsgate, England

Why does the baby need both parents at home all the time for the first few months? In my experience it would be better to delay the father taking paternity leave until the child is around 2, by then the child would appreciate the extra time with its father.
Caron, England

"Randomly taking time off"? You do get 9 months notice of the baby's arrival you know! Why shouldn't a new father be able to spend a week or so with his newborn child without fear of being financially hit for it? At a time when the mother isn't working and a new baby needs all the support (financial and otherwise) it can get, to penalise a family in this manner seems very wrong.
Nick, Basildon, England

Maybe we should thank the current Labour government for once. As it was Tony Blair who introduced the paid leave in the first place. Under the Tories there was no entitlement whatsoever, men had to take their holiday. We all want better pay but put it in its historic context.
Phil Wilton, Bristol

This is a pointless discussion; fathers are always going to be discriminated against. The sexism directed against fathers, because mothers demand everything their own way, is horrific. It's the old story, only a man is capable of being sexist. What is the word for a female equivalent of a misogynist? I know for a fact they exist in large numbers.
Chris, UK

I feel the whole maternity/paternity is heavily steeped in old fashioned sexism. Steve, Newcastle

I feel the whole maternity/paternity is heavily steeped in old fashioned sexism. Many families would benefit from who could take the "primary" carers leave (currently Maternity i.e. 6 month) and who gets the secondary carers leave (currently 2 Paternity for 2 weeks). The hospitals have decided that women no longer require extended hospital stays, so anything above the recuperation time should be open for the family to decide.
Steve, Newcastle

Statutory maternity pay is enough to pay the bills for a few months only, paternity pay would share the burden. More importantly both parents could share in those first precious early days. My kids come before my job any day and any time I take off for them is more than paid back in unpaid overtime.
Joh, Leeds, UK

Paternity pay is too low, here in the Netherlands my husband got 3 days off at full pay and nothing else. It is all very well and good to say the amount shouldn't matter but the birth of a child is a very expensive time, a sudden loss of 25-50% of your household's income that month is the last thing you need. Put together with the continuing pressure on mothers to stop working altogether rather than 'drain' their employers, it's no surprise fathers are not taking paternity leave.
Jennifer, Netherlands, ex UK

Isn't it strange? There are people out there who constantly moan about the declining standards of society. We also have a diminishing work force with all the problems that entails like lower investment in public services and lower pension expectations. Yet these same people complain about fathers being actively involved with child rearing. More children with a well rounded up bringing will mean a larger more respectful work force.
Chris G., Cambridge UK

I think that father's will generally want to spend time with their new born children and that the pay is immaterial. It is a drop in the ocean to worry about given the ongoing cost of children anyway!
Emma, Ipswich, UK

Regardless of fiscal recompense, as a soon father-to-be, I will be taking my full quota of Paternity Leave(including the maximum of just under 4 weeks per year for the following 5 years - which is additional to my holiday entitlement). Quality father-time with my baby-to-be is beyond priceless.
Chris, Somerset

The main concern for any new father is to provide a stable base. Low paternity pay goes against that. Max Richards, Wales

Most of the comments here yet again, are extremely worrying and detached from reality. When a job provides money to pay rent/mortgage, so that you have a place to live in for you and your newborn, to then take 2 weeks off at the insultingly low paternity pay levels, is impossible. There is no choice for those of us that are not raking it in some meaningless HR job. The main concern for any new father is to provide a stable base, and we will do anything we can to make that happen and low paternity pay goes against that.
Max Richards, Wales

I must assume that neither Andrew nor Chris Knell (both from London) have any children.
Paul, UK

Paternity and maternity pay both need to be increased in this country. Have a look at our European neighbours. Maybe if parents were given more time to bond with their children and co-workers didn't kick up such a fuss over parents who want to do what's best for their kids (the future of our country) we wouldn't have such a problem with juvenile delinquents roaming our streets at night.
Christine, UK

Paternity pay is poverty pay. There's no way I could afford to take it. I am apparently 'lucky' that my company pays me 2 days at full pay, so I'll take them and 2 weeks annual leave as well. The undervaluing of parents in our society is terrible. No wonder the birth rate has fallen and we're all in for a pensions crisis. Children are the future for us all, not a 'lifestyle choice' like so many non-parents seem to think.
Jon Cooper, UK

It's deliberately low to make sure guys don't take time off work.
Phillip, UK

You could always use part of your holiday entitlement if you need full pay! Why should your employer pay you for spending time with a child?
Paul, UK

How mean spirited of you Chris Knell! How can you begrudge a father or a new born baby spending precious time together? We work for 45 years and pay high taxes so surely a fortnight off work to spend time with a baby (and help the mother!) isn't asking for too much.
GT, Birmingham

I was lucky that my employer gave me two weeks fully paid paternity leave when I had my first child in August this year, which I made up to three weeks with annual leave. This should be the norm to allow the father to help the mother in those critical first couple of weeks. I'd like to see Britain catch up with some of our European cousins and allow a lot more paternity leave as I don't think two weeks is enough.
Jerry, Basingstoke, Hampshire

The last thing we need is for fathers to start randomly taking time off too. Laura, Wales

Workplaces grind to a halt as it is with women taking maternity, going part-time, rushing off when the little darlings feel ill in school, and expecting to get first choices on what holiday days to take, the last thing we need is for fathers to start randomly taking time off too. If you want to take time off to have a baby holiday and stay home for weeks, use your annual leave or save up and take unpaid leave like the rest of us!
Laura, Wales

What about self-employed fathers? Statutory leave doesn't exist for them. They have a straight choice: work or no money. Why shouldn't it be the same for everyone else? At least those currently entitled to statutory pay get something rather than nothing.
Sally, UK

I find it disgraceful that the majority of fathers questioned were more concerned with what they wanted out of the system, rather than what benefit they may be giving to their wife and children. I work from home, so I spend a lot of time around my children anyway. Even if I didn't and had to work away, I would still take the time off regardless of how much Paternity pay I would get.
Andrew Simpson, Blackpool, UK

Until the state values fatherhood equal to motherhood, this issue is rather pointless. Martina, London

Until the state values fatherhood equal to motherhood, this issue is rather pointless. Go to the family courts and social services to find out that by encouraging men to get even more emotionally involved with their children will just mean higher male suicide when the mother 'decides' she's had enough of the father.
Martina, London

Is it a joke? As a man, fathers should not complain at all. For years women have taken care of the children for free!
David, Bradford, UK

The scheme is not publicised well enough. I did not even know paternity pay was less than my wages.
Chris Tathern, Luton, UK

It's a sad indictment on fathers in our society if they need to be paid to spend time with their children. Look at what capitalism and materialism has turned us into! It would never have happened under the Liberal Democrats.
Andrew, London

I think paternity pay should be a lot higher, to encourage fathers to be around for the first few weeks of the new arrival. For first time parents the whole episode is quite daunting, and having two around to face it is a lot better than one. I think it will also help the father bond better.
Yvonne, UK

No! Parents should be grateful they get as much as they do from the state!
Chris Knell, London