Boris Johnson Now Won't Be Taking Paternity Leave Because Of His "Huge Workload"
2 min read
The Prime Minister will not be taking paternity leave to spend time with his partner and baby son Wilfred claiming his workload does not allow it, his press secretary confirmed.
Like all new fathers the prime minister is entitled to take up to two weeks paid leave after the birth of a child.
His son Wilfred was born on 29 April 2020, two weeks after Johnson left hospital following his admission to intensive care with coronavirus, and in the midst of the first wave of the pandemic.
He did not take leave at the time, claiming he would take it at a later date, but his press secretary Allegra Stratton said today that he is unlikely to be taking it at all.
"He does an awful lot of childcare with his tiny son but he's the prime minister and he works a very long day," she said. "He has a huge workload and I don't think he will be taking paternity leave."
Asked if he ever looked after his son in working hours, she said she didn't think so.
Current paternity leave laws were introduced by The Paternity and Adoption Leave Regulations 2002 and give fathers the right to take either one week or two consecutive weeks' leave within 56 days of a child's birth.
Prime Minister David Cameron took his statutory two weeks paternity leave to be with his wife Samantha and new daughter Florence in 2010. Tony Blair also took time off after the birth of his son Leo in 2000.
It was suggested in 2020 that Johnson would take a short period of paternity leave later in the year but that has not materialised.
On the day of Wilfred's birth, a No.10 source told reporters: “I don’t have any exact timings but I do expect the prime minister to take a short period of paternity leave later in the year, rather than now.”
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