Many new mums want to get back to work

Under the new plan from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, new mothers will be able to allow the second half of their year-long maternity leave to the father.

This means the father can take six months off with half paid at £123.06 a week.

Harriet Harman, Minister for Women and Equality, said: “This gives families radically more choice and flexibility in how they balance work and care of children, and enables fathers to play a bigger part in bringing up their children. We’ve doubled maternity leave; doubled maternity pay; introduced paternity leave; more than doubled good quality affordable childcare places; and introduced right to request flexible working.”

The Conservative party have fought back saying this is an empty pre-election promise. They claim that their plans would offer fathers double the paid paternity leave and would let parents take leave at the same time.

Campaign group Families Need Fathers welcomed the proposals, saying it was a step in changing ‘traditional gender roles of mothers as carers and fathers as breadwinners’.

The plan is to come into effect in April 2011.