So far, so good. So what does it look like in practice? It’s important to realise that you don’t have to take all 50 weeks in one go. A couple of friends have only taken a month off, a decision which was naturally more palatable to their employer and perhaps more agreeable given their personal set of circumstances. I, on the other hand,  have gone for the ‘full fat’ approach for the following reasons: my wife’s employer pays her full-pay for four months; my employer (generously) pays me full-pay for six months; we’ve saved up and carried over as much holiday as possible and added that to the beginning and end of the SPL. My wife will be away from work for just over the first two-thirds of the year, I will be away for the second, and we will overlap by a couple of months in the middle. We aim to budget for the weeks when we drop down to statutory or no pay.

You may think that SPL is a complicated beast. But all that is really required is tallying up the weeks and getting your HR and Line Manager to authorise your plans. Of course, there remains some stigma attached, often depending on where you work and who you work with or for. This might be in terms of your developing career path or resentment amongst colleagues who will cover your workload whilst you’re away. Here’s a tip: I decided to time it to perfection, working right to the end of a full reporting period with a promotion pending and a new role starting in January 2022.  My wife (a solicitor who earns more than me), was also concerned, yet similarly worked tirelessly until the eleventh hour to establish a strong reputation within her team and then honestly negotiating a mutual agreement with her boss.  But remember this: you, as a father, have every right to want to be Super Dad for the year, topping up the family coffers with some credit at the expense of your employer for a while.