Paternity leave could seriously harm SMEs

UK government moves to give fathers the right to six months' paternity leave could seriously damage thousands of smaller manufacturers, which rely on skilled male workers.

Government moves to give fathers the right to six months' paternity leave could seriously damage thousands of smaller manufacturers, which rely on skilled male workers.

That's the warning from a leading business pressure group, The Forum of Private Business (FPB), which champions the cause for more than 25,000 smaller firms throughout Britain.

"In many cases it will be impossible for a firm such an engineering company to find a temporary replacement skilled enough to provide paternity leave cover," FPB chief executive Nick Goulding pointed out.

"While we endorse equal opportunities in the workplace, some of the firms we represent say they might even be forced to close if some of their key skilled male workers took up the right to paternity leave," he added.

One such member was Wayne Green, manager of W and M Joyce Engineering in London, the UK's only picture frame machine maker.

"We employ nearly a dozen men whom it has taken years to gain the skills they need".

"If just one or two decided to take paternity leave, it would be impossible for us to find a temporary replacement capable of doing the job".

"This could have a crippling effect on our business." The FPB also questioned whether a skilled male worker earning an average GBP 300 to GBP 400 a week would really consider reducing his income to GBP 107 a week paternity leave just as he had an extra mouth to feed in the family".

""In reality, we see this as a cynical move by the Government to make them look family friendly, but it will be small businesses that will suffer," said Goulding".

""If Labour is intent on introducing this equal right for male workers, the Government should foot the bill for the extra cost of recruiting temporary workers for paternity cover, and they should also pay the costly bill for training such temporary staff, rather than expecting small businesses to pick up the hefty tab." * AboutFPB - The Forum of Private Business (FPB) was formed in 1977 and is a pressure group fighting on behalf of private businesses.

The FPB represents approximately 25,000 UK-based businesses employing in excess of 600,000 people, and is a powerful lobbying voice in both the UK and the European Union.

The FPB, as the only full UK member of UEAPME - the organisation that represents small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe - is the most prominent advocate of UK SMEs in Brussels and has a track record of positively affecting legislation prior to its introduction in the UK.

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