Exclusive: Pay increases to two weeks in England and Wales after Guardian revealed officers ‘mocked’ for taking time off

Paid paternity leave for police in England and Wales is to double, after the Guardian revealed last year that officers were “mocked and ostracised” for taking time off to spend with their babies.

The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has increased the amount of paid parental and adoption leave for officers from one week to two across all forces, with fathers’ leave upped to be in line with mothers’.

Union says new entitlements, part of Employment Rights Act 2025, will help lower-income households

Up to 9.6 million UK workers are to benefit from the changes to sick pay rules, according to unions. They say the policy has widespread support from voters despite pushback from some businesses.

From Monday, about 8.4 million workers who rely on statutory sick pay – the minimum amount employers must pay – will be paid from the first day of becoming ill rather than from day four, according to an analysis by the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

Aaron Horsey says measures in Employment Rights Act will give support ‘at one of most difficult moments imaginable’

A father who has fought for a change in the law so that bereaved parents can look after their babies after the death of a partner will tell his son he can make the “impossible” happen after new rights for workers are laid before parliament on Monday.

Aaron Horsey was shocked when he discovered he had no right to take leave to look after his newborn son, after his wife, Bernadette, 31, died while giving birth at Royal Derby hospital.