The increase to paid paternity leave will \u201cmake a massive difference to fathers in policing\u201d, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.<\/p>\n
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood increased the amount of paid parental and adoption leave for officers from one week to two across all forces, following a campaign led by a group of MPs and police officers.<\/p>\n
Before the change, only a quarter of forces offered two weeks\u2019 full pay, with others offering one week on full pay and the second week on statutory pay. This resulted in only 40% of officers in the latter group taking the second week\u2019s leave, compared with 88% of those in the first group. Meanwhile, many civilian police staff were entitled to three weeks\u2019 paternity leave at full pay.<\/p>\n
South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said: \u201cThis is great news, and congratulations to the people who’ve been involved in this. It absolutely has to be the case. We have to look after our officers and their families better and it’s not right that there was a disproportionality in terms of what fathers could get.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a step in the right direction and will make a massive difference to fathers who are starting out with their young families. It’s really important.\u201d<\/p>\n