Fathers don't take paternity leave

More than half of new fathers do not take the full paternity leave they are legally entitled to, a study has found.

Unsympathetic bosses are one of the key factors stopping new fathers taking the full time, with a fifth claiming they were needed back at work "urgently".

Just over a third take the period allocated to them by their employers to spend time with their new baby and 58% take less than a week off, according to the survey by YouGov for ING Direct.

Out of the 1,078 fathers polled 48% said financial considerations were a key motive for staying at work.

The law grants fathers up to two weeks paid paternity leave. The basic pay while on leave is £108.85 a week. ING Direct estimates that dads will have a net loss of £724 in earnings over two weeks if the statutory pay is not supplemented by their employer.

Most employers offer an average of three weeks leave, according to the survey.

Lindsay Sinclair, ING Direct Chief Executive Officer, said: "Our research shows that men continue to choose to return to work early, with many mentioning the high financial cost of taking paternity leave as an important factor.

"It also appears that parents may not be making the right financial plans, with one in six men saying they regret not having enough savings to be able to take their full leave. With good financial planning, new dads won't have to cut short their paternity leave."

Work responsibilities are also seen as a deterrent, with one in 10 saying they feared their career would suffer if they took too much time off. One in eight also said their employer was not parent friendly.

Direct savings bank ING Direct launched in the UK in May 2003.