Women solicitors organisation offers Paternity Helpline

The Association of Women Solicitors (AWS)  today launched a Paternity Helpline to give legal and practical advice to male solicitors on their childcare rights.

The Paternity Helpline offers half-an-hour of free legal advice and is completely confidential.

This new service is staffed by volunteer lawyers able to advise on issues such as paternity leave, parental caring breaks and returning to work.
   
This is an extension of the long established and highly regarded Maternity Helpline already provided by the AWS to women solicitors. 

The helpline number is 0870 043 4844.
Susha Chandrasekhar, Chairwoman of the AWS, said:

"The AWS is committed to promoting equality within the profession. 

"Both men and women can be disadvantaged in the workplace when childcare is seen as a purely maternal issue rather than a parental one. 

"We hope that advising male solicitors on their rights will help them to be more confident about exercising them ".

Why this is needed Under the Work and Families Act 2006 and associated legislation the rights of fathers in relation to caring for their children are set to increase. 

This could include a new right for fathers to have up to 26 weeks of additional paternity leave if the mother returns to work.
 
Government figures show that only a quarter of men who are entitled to paternity leave actually take advantage of that right. 

The AWS Paternity Helpline aims to help more male solicitors benefit from their rights, thereby supporting families.
The government-endorsed charity, Fathers Direct, said:

"We welcome the launch of the AWS paternity helpline. 

"What fathers do with work and at home when a baby is born has a profound impact on what mothers do, and vice versa, so it is entirely logical and right for a women’s association to provide such a service for men ".
This year sees the 85th anniversary of the admission of the 1st woman solicitor to the Roll.  Although over 60% of trainees today are women, this statistic is not reflected at senior levels of the profession.  Maternity is cited as one of the main reasons for the lack of progress made by woman solicitors compared to their male counterparts.  Woman solicitors have stated that taking a maternity break of 6 months or more has often made their law firms view them as less committed than their male colleagues. 
Susha Chandrasekhar commented further:
“When men start taking significant amounts of parental leave, firms will have to realise that childcare is an issue that affects the profession as a whole, and not just ‘the woman down the corridor’.”