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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Dads 'to share maternity leave' | Dads 'to share maternity leave' |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Fathers will be able to take six months paternity leave - but plans to extend maternity pay from nine to 12 months have been shelved, under new plans. | |
| The move would allow mothers to return to work after six months and fathers to stay at home with the baby, Business Secretary Lord Mandelson will say. | |
| But plans to extend paid maternity leave are to be shelved to save cash. | |
| A government source said the manifesto "goal" was "under review" but no decision has been taken. | A government source said the manifesto "goal" was "under review" but no decision has been taken. |
| In Labour's 2005 manifesto, the party said it would extend paid maternity leave to nine months - which it did in 2007 - with the "goal of achieving a year's paid leave by the end of the Parliament". | In Labour's 2005 manifesto, the party said it would extend paid maternity leave to nine months - which it did in 2007 - with the "goal of achieving a year's paid leave by the end of the Parliament". |
| The Guardian reported that aim would not now be implemented before the next election. | The Guardian reported that aim would not now be implemented before the next election. |
| The additional paid leave would have cost £500m and given up to £1,600 to eligible families. | |
| Currently fathers can claim up to two weeks' paid leave, up to eight weeks after their child is born. | Currently fathers can claim up to two weeks' paid leave, up to eight weeks after their child is born. |
| Labour is keen to demonstrate its family-friendly credentials ahead of a general election - but small businesses have reacted angrily to the plan to allow fathers to take up to six month paternity leave. | |
| David Frost, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said it would be a good idea "when the economy is working at full tilt" but it would harm businesses struggling with the recession. | |
| "This is not the time to do it. It is a huge burden to plan for both a male and a female employee being away," he told the BBC News Channel. |