Men will be entitled to up to six months' paternity leave according to new legislation published by the Government.

The proposal, which will allow parents to share the 12 months of leave currently on offer to mothers, forms the centre piece of a new Work and Families Bill.

Currently, women are entitled to 12 months’ maternity leave and are paid £106 per week by the Government for the first six months. Men are entitled to two weeks of paid paternity leave.

In the new Bill, the Government offers women nine months' paid leave - a manifesto pledge - and make the benefit available to fathers for the extra three months, should a mother decide to return to work before her paid leave ends.

"The Bill delivers on our commitment to help working parents balance the demands of their job with caring for their children by introducing a modern framework of rights and responsibilities that offers real choice and flexibility," said Alan Johnson, the Trade and Industry Secretary, who estimates that 440,000 fathers could benefit from the plan.

"If a mother chooses to go back to work after the first six months... the father can then pick up extra paternity leave," Mr Johnson told the BBC earlier. "For them to be able to decide which parent goes to work and which parent stays at home to look after the child, we think, is a very important development."

The extension of paid maternity leave is expected to come into effect in April 2007. The Government said that it intends to push for a year of paid leave before the end of the current Parliament. Today's Bill also requires that mothers give two months’ notice to employers before returning from maternity leave.

Mr Johnson argued that the proposal will "help our economy and help our business" and claimed to have the support of Britain's business community, including the Institute of Directors and the Confederation of British Industry, but some employers have spoken out against extending paternity leave.

According to Nick Goulding, the chief executive of the Forum of Private Business, the legislation will seriously damage small businesses and allow enormous scope for fraud.

"In many cases it will be impossible for a firm such as an engineering company to find a temporary replacement skilled enough to provide paternity leave cover," he said. "We see this as a cynical move by the Government to make them look family friendly, but it will be small businesses that will suffer."

But unions and fathers' rights groups welcomed the Bill. "Offering extended paternity leave, with the option of some payment, is an important first step towards reforming our antiquated leave system and giving parents real choice as to who looks after a baby," said Duncan Fisher, chief executive of Fathers Direct. "But it will not be a practical option for most families until the new paternity leave is properly paid."

Under the Bill, employers will pay fathers their paternity leave benefit and then be reimbursed by the Treasury. The Department of Trade and Industry has denied claims that employers will feel under pressure to give men their full salary while on paternity leave, as many do for mothers.

The Bill now goes out for consultation. Other proposals due to be debated include the extension of flexible working, currently limited to parents of young children, to carers of the elderly and the disabled.

The Government also announced that it wants to introduce so-called "keeping in touch days" so that women on maternity leave can go into work for a few days without losing their statutory pay.

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