Police paternity leave to double after fathers felt ‘ostracised’
Police officers in England and Wales are set to see their paid paternity leave doubled, following a damning review that found new fathers were being actively discouraged from taking time off after the birth of their children — and in some cases made to feel like outcasts for even asking.
What’s changing and when
Under the new arrangements, officers will be entitled to four weeks of fully paid paternity leave, up from the current two. The College of Policing, which sets professional standards across the service, confirmed the policy shift is expected to take effect later this year. It’s a significant move for an institution that has long struggled to shake its reputation as an old-fashioned, male-dominated workplace. And for many officers, it doesn’t come a moment too soon.
A culture of silence and pressure
The review, which gathered testimony from officers across multiple forces, painted an uncomfortable picture. Fathers described being made to feel guilty for requesting leave they were legally entitled to. Some said colleagues questioned their commitment. Others reported being passed over for shifts or assignments when they returned. A handful said they simply didn’t bother taking the full two weeks because the atmosphere made it feel impossible.
One senior officer familiar with the findings put it plainly: “No one should feel they have to choose between being a present father and being taken seriously at work. That’s not the kind of service we want to be.”
That kind of pressure, researchers noted, was particularly acute in smaller, operationally stretched teams where covering leave felt like a logistical problem rather than a basic right.
Why this matters beyond policing
Policing isn’t unique here. Studies consistently show that men across the UK take far less paternity leave than they’re entitled to, often citing workplace stigma or financial concerns. But the police service, with around 149,000 officers in England and Wales, carries symbolic weight. When it changes policy, it signals something to the wider workforce.
Doubling the leave period to four weeks also brings policing closer in line with some private sector employers who have moved aggressively on parental benefits in recent years to attract and retain staff. Still, critics point out that four weeks remains well short of what fathers in countries like Sweden or Iceland can access — where shared parental leave systems allow many months away from work.
What comes next
The policy change is expected to be accompanied by updated guidance for line managers, with explicit language discouraging any informal pressure on officers not to take leave. Forces will also be encouraged to track uptake rates — something that wasn’t consistently done before.
Whether that translates into real cultural change is harder to guarantee. Policies on paper and practices on the ground don’t always match, especially in high-pressure environments.
But those who pushed for the reform say getting the entitlement right is at least a necessary first step. Four weeks won’t fix everything. It’s a start.
