UK Gives Dads 6 Months of Paternity Leave

The UK has overhauled its family leave policy to put more British babies in their fathers' care as mothers play the role of breadwinner. Where previously mothers got nine months' leave and fathers only two weeks, families will now have the option of shifting the mother's last three months to the father, then tacking on three more unpaid months for a total of six months' paternity leave, the Daily Telegraph reports.

By enabling mothers to return to work earlier, leaving the baby in the father's care, the new measure is expected to particularly benefit the growing number of families in which women are the higher earners. Advocates of the new policy also argued that “there is a huge appetite among fathers to spend more time with their children." (More United Kingdom stories.)