Police Scotland: fix your paternity leave

Police Scotland's paternity leave policy is broken. Frontline officers actually get worse paternity pay than back office colleagues. As a result, 70% of Police Scotland officers take just 7 days of paternity leave, because they can't afford to take the second week at statutory pay.

Just as bad are the stories we've head of a toxic culture towards officers who want to be active dads. We need the police to sort this out urgently - both so officers get a decent amount of leave, and to send a message to the government about how badly our current paternity leave system is failing everyone.

Email Scottish Police Authority Chief Executive and the Chair of the National Police Chief's council now - it takes 10 seconds to do.

Police Scotland's paternity leave policy is broken. Frontline officers actually get worse paternity pay than back office colleagues. As a result, 70% of Police Scotland officers take just 7 days of paternity leave, because they can't afford to take the second week at statutory pay.

Just as bad are the stories we've head of a toxic culture towards officers who want to be active dads. We need the police to sort this out urgently - both so officers get a decent amount of leave, and to send a message to the government about how badly our current paternity leave system is failing everyone.

Email Scottish Police Authority Chief Executive and the Chair of the National Police Chief's council now - it takes 10 seconds to do.

Police Scotland: Sort out your pat leave

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To Lynn Brown OBE, Scottish Police Authority Chief Executive, and Gavin Stephens, Chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council,

I’m a supporter of The Dad Shift campaign for better paternity leave and was shocked to learn that Police Scotland offers civilian staff more paternity pay than frontline officers. You are one of only two forces that do this. As a result, 70% of your officers return after just one week, while in the nine forces where both weeks are fully paid, 88% take the full two weeks.

It can’t be right that fathers serving in the line of duty are so poorly supported in the first weeks and months of their babies’ lives and I’m writing to ask that you immediately commit to reviewing these policies and meeting The Dad Shift to see what more can be done.

The 70% stat clearly shows that statutory pay is so low most Police Scotland officers simply can’t afford to take it, forcing them back to work after just seven days. But even for those taking their full allowance, two weeks isn’t nearly enough time to properly bond with your baby, help your partner recover from birth, and adjust to life as a parent so you can return to work at 100% capacity.

The consequences of this inadequate leave are serious. Sleep-deprived officers are forced to make split-second decisions in high-pressure situations while carrying tasers or driving response vehicles. Officers’ relationships are strained to breaking point. And valuable, experienced officers are leaving the force, with research from the Police Federation showing 63% of officers who resign cite family impact as a major factor in their decision.

The Dad Shift has heard story after story about a toxic culture towards officers who want to be active fathers. One former Metropolitan Police officer, for example, said he was “ostracised and mocked” after taking two extra weeks off, unpaid, to look after his partner and their baby following her C-section. This ultimately contributed to him resigning from the Met.

The Dad Shift has collected comparative paternity leave data from the majority of forces in the country. Would you be willing to meet with them to see how your force compares to others and discuss the steps you could take to address this important issue within your force?

If so, please reply to let me know and I will pass on your email.

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