Britain needs a fundamental change in employment culture to help parents spend more time with their newborn children, a government minister has said.
Children's minister Beverley Hughes is calling for the length of paid paternity leave to be doubled and says pay rates must be progressively increased to help parents.
Her proposals, published in a collection of essays compiled by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), refer to evidence showing that fathers involved in the first weeks of their children's lives are more likely to be close to their offspring in the future.
In order to give parents what they want – "time, money, choice and control" – all jobs must be advertised as part-time, job-share or flexitime. Parents should also be allowed 13 weeks leave as a paid entitlement, Ms Hughes believed.
She said: "The best way to help children see more of their parents and for families of all shapes and sizes - including single people - to cope with increasing pressures is to change fundamentally Britain's working culture.
"Far-sighted employers already recognise that flexibility supports staff retention. It's good for the economy as well as for children and families," she added.
She will address the IPPR at an event in Manchester later today.
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