Fathers in the Netherlands are more likely to take unpaid leave, but the country is still lagging behind most of Europe, according to the latest official figures.

Statistics Netherlands said 11 per cent of Dutch dads took unpaid leave in 2015, almost twice the proportion a decade ago. Among mothers the figure was 22 per cent, compared to 13 per cent in 2005.

Senior economist Peter Hein van Mulligen told BNR news that the trend was ‘a clear increase’, before adding: ‘It is still clearly a minority of men who do it.’

Changes to the law in 2015 gave parents more rights to take time off for their children, but parental leave is still relatively short compared to other European countries. New fathers are entitled to just three days’ paid absence after the birth of a baby, which must be taken in the first four weeks.

Parents of children under eight can ask their employer for up to six months’ unpaid absence. Pedagogy lecturer Louis Tavecchio said the increasing trend was ‘encouraging’, but fathers were still reluctant to take parental leave because they were worried it would affect their career prospects.

‘Men are wary of what’s known in the US as the daddy track,’ he said. ‘Men who choose to prioritise their families at significant moments in their career get passed over for promotion.’