Friday October 30th 2026
Midlothian MP Kirsty McNeil
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
Kirsty McNeill, MP for Midlothian, has welcomed the Labour Government’s decision to extend paid paternity leave to self-employed parents for the first time in British history.
Currently, self-employed dads have zero right to statutory paternity pay. Adoptive parents, people who have only just started a new job and parents who have recently lost their job are left out in the same way.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) estimates that a self-employed partner who takes the same two weeks’ paternity leave that employees get currently lose £1,020 in income on average.
The change is set to benefit more than 150,000 parents per year.
Kirsty McNeill MP said: “People who work for themselves have been left out of paternity pay for too long and I’m incredibly pleased our Labour Government is putting that right. This is a mark of respect for Midlothian’s hard-working families.”
George Gabriel, co-founder of The Dad Shift, said: “Given all the costs expecting families face this is going to be a lifeline – a bit of room to breathe so self-employed dads and non-birthing parents can spend even a little time supporting their partners and bonding with their babies before heading out the door to pay the bills.”
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