The Manchester law firm revealed almost 90% of employers have not witnessed any take-up of extended paternity leave by new fathers.
Two thirds (65.6%) of companies believed the lacklustre take up was for financial reasons with the father still being the main breadwinner in many households. The stereotype of mothers being viewed as the primary carer was also cited as a reason for the slow take-up.
New paternity rights for fathers came into force in April this year. Under the rules, parents are entitled to share time off work during their baby's first year.
The legislation states after the mother has taken the first 20 weeks off work, fathers can now take up to 26 weeks additional paternity leave, providing his partner has returned to her employment.
The previous Labour government's extended paternity rights caused panic with many industry leaders warning of the impact on smaller firms.
But the survey finds in reality take-up has been slow and many of the companies surveyed are not expecting it to increase. Sixty per cent said they did not believe more fathers in the future will take extended paternity leave.
Jim Lister, head of employment at Pannone, said: "It seems that the gender pay gap is alive and well and the fact that men are the main household earner is preventing many new dads from taking advantage of the extended leave.
"The survey's findings are good news for businesses, particularly those with a smaller workforce, which were very concerned about how they would manage the anticipated take-up. However, it appears that their fears were largely unfounded and the rights have proven to be a damp squib with many new fathers."
