Nick Clegg plans for paternity leave unmanageable, say business leaders

Business leaders have attacked Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's plans to "transform" the opportunities for fathers to take time off work to spend with their children.

• Nick Clegg says the current rules patronise women

In a speech to the left-of- centre think tank Demos, Mr Clegg yesterday unveiled a new flexible approach to paternity, complaining that current attitudes towards child-rearing belonged in the Edwardian era and had no place in the 21st century.

Mr Clegg confirmed the government would press ahead with Labour measures to allow fathers to take up any remaining unpaid maternity leave if the mother went back to work early. He suggested fathers could even be offered additional blocks of "use-it-or-lose it" leave, which would not be transferable to their wife or partner, to encourage them to spend more time at home with their young child.

However, his comments drew a furious response from business groups, which denounced his plans as "virtually unmanageable", warning they would deter firms from taking on new staff.

Alistair Tebbit of the Institute of Directors said Mr Clegg was in danger of undermining the government's "pro-enterprise credentials".

"If employees were given the opportunity to take leave in short blocks, the system would become virtually unmanageable – how would firms arrange cover?" he said. "You do not promote economic growth by making it harder for firms to employ people and encumbering them with time-consuming regulations."

The CBI added that ministers needed to work with business to ensure the changes worked for both employees and employers.

"Allowing parents to take ad hoc parcels of leave would make it hard for companies to plan ahead," said CBI Scotland director Iain McMillan. "Any changes will need to be simple to administer and must allow firms to plan ahead to cover staff absences."

Federation of Small Businesses chairman John Walker said that while it supported a more flexible system of parental leave, "in return, information must be given to the employer upfront and (the leave] taken in one block".

Mr Clegg said the government would consult fully on its proposals, which would not be implemented before 2015.

While he acknowledged that some measures could prove "unaffordable", he stressed that the government was committed to changing the current system.

He said: "These rules patronise women and marginalise men. They're based on a view of life in which mothers stay at home and fathers are the only breadwinners. That's an Edwardian system that has no place in 21st century Britain.

"That culture must change. I want to make it clear that these reforms are a priority of mine, and of the Prime Minister's."

His plans were welcomed by the National Childcare Trust, which urged him to go further and introduce 12 months of fully paid parental leave, to be taken by either the father or mother.

"More attractive leave options for fathers enables them to spend time with their children, which can help to strengthen the family structure," said senior policy adviser Elizabeth Duff.