This report examines mothers’ take-up of Parental Leave Pay (PLP) and fathers’ take-up of Dad and Partner Pay (DAPP), two government payments designed to support eligible working mothers and fathers to take time off work to care for newborn or newly adopted children. By exploring take-up, the authors fill a significant gap in knowledge about the proportion of eligible parents who were using these payments, and the factors explaining different levels of take-up for these parents.

The report examines PLP and DAPP take-up around 2021, before the introduction of the 2023 reforms that saw the removal of DAPP as a separate payment. As such, the findings provide an important baseline to compare mothers’ and fathers’ take-up of PLP under these reforms. The analysis provides insights on the likely variation in take-up of PLP under the current policy setting, and draws attention to the number of fathers no longer eligible for support via the new criteria for eligibility for PLP.

The analyses showed that patterns of PLP and DAPP use varied by employment characteristics, as well as other personal and family characteristics. Some of the findings reflected different levels of availability and use of employer-funded leave across the workforce, although more detailed research is needed to fully understand parents’ decision-making about leave and employment in the period that follows a birth.