Speaking at the annual conference of the Trades Union Congress last week, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that, from April 2011, fathers will have the right to take up to three months' paid paternity leave during the second six months of a child's life, providing that the child's mother has gone back to work, and a further three months of unpaid leave.
The idea of introducing a period of transferable parental leave was put forward by the Equality and Human Rights Commission in April (News, 1 April).
Mr Brown added that the Labour Party 'retains its ambition' to extend paid maternity leave from nine months to one year, but gave no indication of a timeframe.
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