Extended paternity leave could be part of a wider change in attitudes to work and family which employers should be aware of, says Jon Keeble, employment law partner at DWF in Preston.

Employers are accustomed to accommodating requests for maternity leave but few anticipated having to do the same for their male members of staff.

Then in 2003 the government introduced paid paternity leave in an employment bill which also gave all parents the right to request flexible working. So far paternity leave has not proved too much of a disruption for employers, since fathers are only entitled to two weeks.

However in the next few years the period of leave will almost certainly be extended. The new entitlement has already been agreed as part of the Work and Families Act 2006, although its introduction has been delayed until 2010 or beyond.

The rules will enable fathers to take up to six months off, some of it paid, provided their partner returns to work early. Effectively they will allow parents to choose who stays at home to look after the baby. This could encourage many high-earning women to return to the workplace more quickly and result in a reversal of the traditional roles.

It will be a particular shock for smaller organisations and ones with a high proportion of male workers – for example engineering or construction firms.

The US is currently seeing a new wave of discrimination complaints filed by dads demanding more family-friendly policies from employers, labelled as ‘daddy wars’ by the media. It is said to reflect a new generation of fathers who are rejecting the long hours culture and want to spend more time with their children.

Certainly the issue of paternity leave could be the crux of a much wider change in attitudes to work and family life that is already underway, and one that employers should be aware of.