{
  "id": 16459607,
  "title": "Retail leads the way on paternity leave as government urged to improve offer",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/25/retail-leads-the-way-on-paternity-leave-as-government-urged-to",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-25T10:00:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Guardian Business",
    "slug": "guardian-business",
    "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/oct/25/retail-leads-way-paternity-leave-government-urged-improve-offer"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Marks & Spencer and Tesco are among the retailers offering six weeks of paid paternity leave, contrasting sharply with the two-week statutory minimum across sectors like construction and agriculture. Joe Erskine, an employee at M&S, praised the six-week paid paternity leave as a significant positive change for his family. Retail businesses and the shop workers' union Usdaw held a parliamentary roundtable discussion to discuss the benefits of enhanced paternity leave for new parents. Labour MP Connor Rand emphasized the importance of this benefit for bonding with children and supporting partners, noting that many fathers in the UK currently lack this crucial support. Despite paternity leave being introduced over two decades ago, the UK ranks 40th out of 43 OECD countries for its generosity, trailing behind numerous nations. Employed fathers in the UK are entitled to a maximum of £194.32 a week, or 90% of their average earnings, leaving them significantly behind in compared to other countries. The disparity in paternity leave offerings persists across various sectors, with construction and manufacturing providing comparatively minimal benefits. Asda, Waitrose, and Lidl are among retailers that have contributed to improving parental leave for nearly 650,000 workers. Campaigners argue that the UK has one of the least generous paternity leave policies globally, with employed fathers only entitled to two weeks of fully paid leave, which compares poorly to the offerings in other countries.",
  "summary": "M&S and Tesco are among employers offering six weeks, highlighting gap with construction and agriculture “Being able to take six weeks’ paid paternity leave, flexibly, made a huge difference to me and my family, giving me the time to support my partner and settle into being a new parent,” said Marks & Spencer employee Joe Erskine. The food and clothing retailer increased its paternity leave…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}