Friday May 22nd 2026
Edinburgh Council offices
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Kirsty Paterson
Up to six weeks paid paternity leave could be introduced by the City of Edinburgh Council, after councillors supported a call to look at improving time off for new dads.
SNP councillor Stuart Dobbin’s motion asked the council to look at improving entitlement for council employees, which is currently just one week at full pay and one week at Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP).
Cllr Dobbin pointed out that SPP is “less than half of the national minimum wage” and told members that the statutory arrangements for paternity leave in the UK “rank among the poorest in Europe”.
He said that he and his group believe there would be “great benefits” to improving paternity leave – not just for fathers working for Edinburgh City Council but for families, with both mums and dads being fully involved in parenting.
Cllr Dobbin said his own personal experience had shown that longer paternity leave is vital in supporting the recovery of the mother, particularly in cases such as Caesarian births or when the newborn requires an extended stay in hospital.
He added: “My first born was by an emergency Caesarian and I can assure the chamber that drafting in Granny is not necessarily a positive alternative to the father being present and able to provide support in those extremely trying early days when mother is trying to recover from a pretty big operation and also nurse the baby.”
Independent research, he said, has shown that inadequate paternity leave and pay is a factor in depression and mental health difficulties, while more support from fathers also has a significant role in reducing post-natal depression that many women experience.
His SNP colleague, Councillor Lesley Macinnes added that the council should be setting a good example for other employees.
She said: “CEC should be a leader in this. It should be looking at what we can do to improve the lives of the people that work for us and, more importantly, the wider society that we represent.”
Councillors from all parties also shared their personal experiences as they agreed the council should improve its paternity policy.
Green councillor Ross McKenzie said his party fully supported Cllr Dobbin’s call for a review, but wanted to ensure that arms-length organisations working with the council would also be involved.
Cllr Dobbin had asked members to agree that an ongoing review would work towards to establishing a paternity leave policy that provides a minimum of six weeks’ leave at 90 per cent remuneration.
However, Conservative councillor Christopher Cowdy suggested that the motion was trying to “micro-manage” the officers’ report and suggested the details of the review should be left to the experts in the council’s HR department.
Both the Greens’ and Conservatives’ points were accepted as addendums.
Any change would have to be affordable, councillors also agreed, so officers will bring forward a proposal next year before the council sets its annual budget.
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