Extraído de http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2008/may/18/familyfinance
New fathers 'can't afford to take time off'Changes to paternity leave fail to address reasons why uptake is so low, writes Helen Pridham
Helen Pridham The Observer, Sunday May 18 2008 Article historyAbout this articleClose This article appeared in the Observer on Sunday May 18 2008 on p16 of the Cash section. It was last updated at 00:03 on May 18 2008. Most new fathers like to spend some time at home when their babies are born. The introduction of two weeks of paid paternity leave was intended to make this easier, but the new rules are not all they were cracked up to be: not everyone qualifies for paternity pay and, even when they do, the benefit is so low that many fathers don't bother to claim.
Paternity leave for employees was introduced five years ago. It allows fathers, or the partner of a woman having a child (including same-sex partners) to take up to two weeks of paid leave after their baby is born - within 56 days after the birth. During their leave, fathers receive statutory paternity pay, which is £117.18, or 90 per cent of their average weekly earnings if this figure is lower. Employers can reclaim all or nearly all of the leave from their National Insurance contributions.
Claiming paid paternity leave, however, is not always straightforward - as Alastair MacDonald, 29, from Armadale in Scotland discovered last year. MacDonald was disappointed to find that he was not eligible for paid paternity leave on the arrival of his third child, because he had changed his job within 40 weeks of the expected date of birth - even though the job change was not voluntary, because he had been made redundant.
He says that his new employers are 'only a small firm so they couldn't afford to pay me if they weren't able to reclaim the money from the government. They offered me unpaid leave instead but I couldn't afford to take time off without my wages.' He believes it would be fairer if eligibility was based on his National Insurance contribution record, pointing out that he has been paying contributions continuously since he started work at 16.
Most men don't have a problem claiming paternity pay, says Kathy Rogan, rights adviser at Working Families, the work-life balance campaign organisation. 'But difficulties can arise,' she warns. 'Sometimes employers will refuse because an employee hasn't given them the full 15 weeks' written notice required. In another case, a man was threatened with losing a substantial part of his bonus if he took the time off. But we told him his employer could not do this, as in law you cannot be subjected to a detriment if you assert a right.
'Sometimes small employers will say they haven't heard of paternity pay but in this situation the easiest way for an employee to enforce his right is to complain direct to the Revenue as they are responsible for administering paternity pay. We also get queries from self-employed men but unfortunately they don't qualify anyway.'
Even when fathers are eligible for paternity pay, they do not always claim it. Adrienne Burgess, research manager at the Fatherhood Institute, says: 'Paternity pay is so low that many men can't afford to take paternity leave. Although around 80 per cent of men take time off around the time of their baby's birth, many use their ordinary holiday entitlement instead. The general feeling is that professional men tend to take paternity leave because they work for the type of companies that will top up the benefit so they get their full salary. But they are in the minority. The majority of men in lower-paid jobs are unlikely to get a top-up from their employer. So they will use their holiday entitlement in order to remain on full pay. But this is terrible for families because it means dad's ordinary holiday is squeezed.'
The charity Working Families would like to see paternity pay increased. Jonathan Swan, its policy and research officer, says: 'We would like it brought into line with the first six weeks of statutory maternity pay when mothers receive 90 per cent of their usual weekly earnings. This would give fathers a proper incentive to take paternity leave. We would also like it to be extended and made more flexible so it does not have to be taken in one block.'
There are also criticisms of the government's plans for 'additional paternity leave, which it has pledged to introduce before the end of the current Parliament. This would give employed fathers a right to take an additional 26 weeks off work, with pay, to care for their child in its first year in place of the mother, if she has returned to work and not used all her paid maternity leave.
Adrienne Burgess of the Fatherhood Institute says: 'One of the problems with these plans is that fathers won't be able to take the leave unless their partner is entitled to maternity leave, so if the woman is not working or is self-employed then fathers won't get it. Also, because the government wants to encourage breast-feeding, fathers won't be able to take the leave in the first six months of the baby's life. We see this as social engineering on the part of the government. They should grant parental leave and let couples choose how they take it. They also need to pay fathers 70 per cent or 80 per cent of their salary during their leave otherwise very few will take it up.'
Fortunately for Alastair MacDonald, who wasn't eligible for paid paternity leave, his wife Mhari had their daughter Ceilidh on Christmas Eve 2007 - so he had a few days of paid holiday straight after the birth anyway.
Tax help for families
On the plus side, there are child benefit and child tax credits that can help to boost the family's income. Child benefit is given automatically and is currently £18.80 per week for the first child and £12.55 for other children. Child tax credits depend on income but according to the government, nine out of 10 families qualify. Most get at least the basic 'family element' worth £545 for the current tax year if their income is no more than £58,175 a year (up to £66,350 if you have a child under one). For lower earners a 'child element' is also available which is worth up to £2,085 and is payable for each child.
Working tax credits may also be available depending on income and the number of children in the family. According to HMRC figures, a couple with an income of £25,000 with two children could qualify for combined child and working tax credits of £1,785 a year or £34 a week. Families who are eligible for working tax credit can additionally receive help with 80 per cent of eligible childcare costs up to a maximum of £175 per week for one child, or £300 for two or more children. (Eligibility inquiries can be made through a confidential tax credits helpline: 0845 300 3900.)
Parents also receive a child trust fund of £250 to invest tax-free on behalf of their new arrival. They can add a further £1,200 per year to the account.
But there will also be plenty of expenses associated with a new arrival. In particular parents should remember to take out extra life insurance, says Graeme Mitchell, of independent financial advisers Lowland Financial, to protect their dependents against financial hardship in case of their early death. Term assurance is the cheapest option.
New fathers 'can't afford to take time off'Changes to paternity leave fail to address reasons why uptake is so low, writes Helen Pridham
Helen Pridham The Observer, Sunday May 18 2008 Article historyAbout this articleClose This article appeared in the Observer on Sunday May 18 2008 on p16 of the Cash section. It was last updated at 00:03 on May 18 2008. Most new fathers like to spend some time at home when their babies are born. The introduction of two weeks of paid paternity leave was intended to make this easier, but the new rules are not all they were cracked up to be: not everyone qualifies for paternity pay and, even when they do, the benefit is so low that many fathers don't bother to claim.
Paternity leave for employees was introduced five years ago. It allows fathers, or the partner of a woman having a child (including same-sex partners) to take up to two weeks of paid leave after their baby is born - within 56 days after the birth. During their leave, fathers receive statutory paternity pay, which is £117.18, or 90 per cent of their average weekly earnings if this figure is lower. Employers can reclaim all or nearly all of the leave from their National Insurance contributions.
Claiming paid paternity leave, however, is not always straightforward - as Alastair MacDonald, 29, from Armadale in Scotland discovered last year. MacDonald was disappointed to find that he was not eligible for paid paternity leave on the arrival of his third child, because he had changed his job within 40 weeks of the expected date of birth - even though the job change was not voluntary, because he had been made redundant.
He says that his new employers are 'only a small firm so they couldn't afford to pay me if they weren't able to reclaim the money from the government. They offered me unpaid leave instead but I couldn't afford to take time off without my wages.' He believes it would be fairer if eligibility was based on his National Insurance contribution record, pointing out that he has been paying contributions continuously since he started work at 16.
Most men don't have a problem claiming paternity pay, says Kathy Rogan, rights adviser at Working Families, the work-life balance campaign organisation. 'But difficulties can arise,' she warns. 'Sometimes employers will refuse because an employee hasn't given them the full 15 weeks' written notice required. In another case, a man was threatened with losing a substantial part of his bonus if he took the time off. But we told him his employer could not do this, as in law you cannot be subjected to a detriment if you assert a right.
'Sometimes small employers will say they haven't heard of paternity pay but in this situation the easiest way for an employee to enforce his right is to complain direct to the Revenue as they are responsible for administering paternity pay. We also get queries from self-employed men but unfortunately they don't qualify anyway.'
Even when fathers are eligible for paternity pay, they do not always claim it. Adrienne Burgess, research manager at the Fatherhood Institute, says: 'Paternity pay is so low that many men can't afford to take paternity leave. Although around 80 per cent of men take time off around the time of their baby's birth, many use their ordinary holiday entitlement instead. The general feeling is that professional men tend to take paternity leave because they work for the type of companies that will top up the benefit so they get their full salary. But they are in the minority. The majority of men in lower-paid jobs are unlikely to get a top-up from their employer. So they will use their holiday entitlement in order to remain on full pay. But this is terrible for families because it means dad's ordinary holiday is squeezed.'
The charity Working Families would like to see paternity pay increased. Jonathan Swan, its policy and research officer, says: 'We would like it brought into line with the first six weeks of statutory maternity pay when mothers receive 90 per cent of their usual weekly earnings. This would give fathers a proper incentive to take paternity leave. We would also like it to be extended and made more flexible so it does not have to be taken in one block.'
There are also criticisms of the government's plans for 'additional paternity leave, which it has pledged to introduce before the end of the current Parliament. This would give employed fathers a right to take an additional 26 weeks off work, with pay, to care for their child in its first year in place of the mother, if she has returned to work and not used all her paid maternity leave.
Adrienne Burgess of the Fatherhood Institute says: 'One of the problems with these plans is that fathers won't be able to take the leave unless their partner is entitled to maternity leave, so if the woman is not working or is self-employed then fathers won't get it. Also, because the government wants to encourage breast-feeding, fathers won't be able to take the leave in the first six months of the baby's life. We see this as social engineering on the part of the government. They should grant parental leave and let couples choose how they take it. They also need to pay fathers 70 per cent or 80 per cent of their salary during their leave otherwise very few will take it up.'
Fortunately for Alastair MacDonald, who wasn't eligible for paid paternity leave, his wife Mhari had their daughter Ceilidh on Christmas Eve 2007 - so he had a few days of paid holiday straight after the birth anyway.
Tax help for families
On the plus side, there are child benefit and child tax credits that can help to boost the family's income. Child benefit is given automatically and is currently £18.80 per week for the first child and £12.55 for other children. Child tax credits depend on income but according to the government, nine out of 10 families qualify. Most get at least the basic 'family element' worth £545 for the current tax year if their income is no more than £58,175 a year (up to £66,350 if you have a child under one). For lower earners a 'child element' is also available which is worth up to £2,085 and is payable for each child.
Working tax credits may also be available depending on income and the number of children in the family. According to HMRC figures, a couple with an income of £25,000 with two children could qualify for combined child and working tax credits of £1,785 a year or £34 a week. Families who are eligible for working tax credit can additionally receive help with 80 per cent of eligible childcare costs up to a maximum of £175 per week for one child, or £300 for two or more children. (Eligibility inquiries can be made through a confidential tax credits helpline: 0845 300 3900.)
Parents also receive a child trust fund of £250 to invest tax-free on behalf of their new arrival. They can add a further £1,200 per year to the account.
But there will also be plenty of expenses associated with a new arrival. In particular parents should remember to take out extra life insurance, says Graeme Mitchell, of independent financial advisers Lowland Financial, to protect their dependents against financial hardship in case of their early death. Term assurance is the cheapest option.
0:10 | Así lo anunció el canciller José Antonio García Belaunde, quien expresó su deseo que este incremento continúe
(Andina).- El ministro de Relaciones Exteriores, José Antonio García Belaunde, mencionó que las inversiones alemanas se han triplicado gracias a la visita de la canciller federal de Alemania, Angela Merkel, quien impulsó convenios para la llegada 400 millones de dólares en inversiones de su país.
"Si las cifras no me engañan la inversión alemana era muy pequeña; en el Perú hablábamos de 160 o 180 millones de dólares, pero la canciller alemana ha venido y creó un acuerdo de inversión por 400 millones de dólares, en una sola visita triplicó (las inversiones)", recalcó.
García Belaunde dijo esperar que esta cooperación continúe luego de esta importante visita."La visita de la canciller Merkel puede abrir muchas oportunidades de inversión alemana que mayoritariamente se concentra en otros países", dijo.
Uno de los convenios firmados con el gobierno alemán durante la llegada de Merkel, compromete una inversión germana para apoyar el desarrollo de la Hidroeléctrica "El Platanal".
Esto implica una inversión de 400 millones de dólares de los empresarios con lo cual se conseguirá generar cerca de 6 mil puestos nuevos de empleo.
Foro de inversión de ALC-UE traería alrededor de US$ 1,000 millones en inversiones
Lima, may. 18 (ANDINA).- Tras el I Foro de Inversiones realizado en el marco de la V cumbre de jefes de Estado y de Gobierno de América latina, el Caribe y al Unión Europea (ALC-UE), llegarán inversiones al Perú por la suma de mil millones de dólares, sostuvo el director ejecutivo de la Agencia de Promoción de la Inversión Privada (ProInversión), David Lemor.
Lemor aseguró que existe confianza en que esa cifra aumentará con el tiempo.
“Lo que hemos logrado en el foro de inversiones que organizamos en la cumbre ALC-UE, es convocar a mil 200 empresarios de todo el mundo que vinieron a la cumbre y hemos logrado más de mil 500 citas de negocios de manera exitosa”, dijo en declaraciones a Andina.
Consideró que ya se están viendo los primeros resultados de esta cumbre internacional que organizó el Perú, donde asistieron 60 jefes de Estado y de Gobierno de dos continentes.
“Estoy empezando a recibir los resultados y ya tenemos tratativas entre empresas privadas de los países del ALC-UE para realizar inversiones en el Perú que hasta el momento sumarían cerca de mil millones de dólares”, sostuvo.
Agregó que esta cifra es uno de los primeros beneficios que ha traído la cumbre internacional realizada en la sede del Museo de la Nación.
“Estamos hablando de una buena cantidad de inversiones, por ejemplo en el desarrollo de nuevas plantaciones de caña de azucar para los biocombustibles, también existe la intención de varios países para participar de un parque industrial en Lurin para aprovechar el gaseoducto de GLP que vendrá de Pisco.
Lemor apuntó que también se invertirá en el sector financiero y se ha logrado acuerdos inmobiliarios.
Agregó que dentro de estas inversiones existen tratativas de inversión privada de un consorcio peruano-alemán para el desarrollo agro industrial en una zona entre Cañete y Chincha.
Lima, may. 18 (ANDINA).- Tras el I Foro de Inversiones realizado en el marco de la V cumbre de jefes de Estado y de Gobierno de América latina, el Caribe y al Unión Europea (ALC-UE), llegarán inversiones al Perú por la suma de mil millones de dólares, sostuvo el director ejecutivo de la Agencia de Promoción de la Inversión Privada (ProInversión), David Lemor.
Lemor aseguró que existe confianza en que esa cifra aumentará con el tiempo.
“Lo que hemos logrado en el foro de inversiones que organizamos en la cumbre ALC-UE, es convocar a mil 200 empresarios de todo el mundo que vinieron a la cumbre y hemos logrado más de mil 500 citas de negocios de manera exitosa”, dijo en declaraciones a Andina.
Consideró que ya se están viendo los primeros resultados de esta cumbre internacional que organizó el Perú, donde asistieron 60 jefes de Estado y de Gobierno de dos continentes.
“Estoy empezando a recibir los resultados y ya tenemos tratativas entre empresas privadas de los países del ALC-UE para realizar inversiones en el Perú que hasta el momento sumarían cerca de mil millones de dólares”, sostuvo.
Agregó que esta cifra es uno de los primeros beneficios que ha traído la cumbre internacional realizada en la sede del Museo de la Nación.
“Estamos hablando de una buena cantidad de inversiones, por ejemplo en el desarrollo de nuevas plantaciones de caña de azucar para los biocombustibles, también existe la intención de varios países para participar de un parque industrial en Lurin para aprovechar el gaseoducto de GLP que vendrá de Pisco.
Lemor apuntó que también se invertirá en el sector financiero y se ha logrado acuerdos inmobiliarios.
Agregó que dentro de estas inversiones existen tratativas de inversión privada de un consorcio peruano-alemán para el desarrollo agro industrial en una zona entre Cañete y Chincha.
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