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Chris Martin supports proposed freelance parental leave legislation
By Andy Malt | Published on Tuesday 20 February 2018
Coldplay’s Chris Martin has leant his support to a campaign calling for the principle of shared parental leave to be extended to the self-employed.
Campaigners will gather outside Parliament tomorrow morning in support of Labour MP Tracy Brabin’s proposed Shared Parental Pay And Leave (Extension) Bill.
In 2015, the law was changed to allow parents to split parental leave between them. However, self-employed mothers are only able to take maternity leave and their statutory maternity pay in one block. Self-employed fathers have no access to paternity leave or pay.
Brabin’s proposed legislation would change this, and would be of particular benefit to those who work in the creative industries, where the rate of self-employment is around 44%.
In a statement, Chris Martin said: “So many of our crew, both in the studio and on the road, are freelance, and we don’t want to lose half of that talent when they become parents – we want them to be able to share their parenting in a way that works for them, and isn’t dictated by being a man or a woman”.
Other musicians supporting the campaign include from Laura Marling, Keane, Ed Harcourt and Fyfe Dangerfield.
