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Paternity Leave Rights
If your wife/partner is expecting a baby, as the father you have
certain rights and benefits at work. These will however depend on your
circumstance and national insurance contributions.
Here are some useful pointers and some basic guidance, however, we
recommend you seek more professional advice for further details.
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Do you qualify?
- You must have been employed continuously for at least 26 weeks by the
end of the 15th week before the EWC.
- You must be the father of the child, or be married to, or the partner
of, the child's mother or adopter.
- You must have, or expect to have, responsibility for upbringing the
child.
- Only one period of leave is allowed whether there is more than 1
child born as a result of the same pregnancy.
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Notice Period required from employees
You must inform you employer that you wish to take paternity leave by
the end of the 15th week before the EWC, unless this is not reasonably
practicable. You must let them know what week the baby is expected,
whether you want 1 or 2 weeks leave and when you want your leave to
start.
You can change your mind about when you wish to start your leave, but
you must let your employer know at least 28 days in advance (unless
this is not reasonably practicable).
Your employer is required to respond to your notification of place
within 28 days (unless this date has been varied, in which case, your
employer must respond within 28 days of the start of paternity leave).
The employer must write to you, setting out the date when you are
expected to return to work.
The earliest date that you are able to start your leave is the date of
the child's birth.
The latest date of commencement for leave - this date means the
completion of leave is 56 days after the date of birth or EWC,
whichever is later.
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Length of paternity leave
You are entitled to 1 or 2 weeks for your paternity leave.
The maximum length is 2 weeks and you cannot take these 2 weeks
separately in 1 week periods.
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Statutory Paternity Pay and Paternity Allowance
During your paternity leave, you are entitled to Statutory Paternity
Pay (SPP) from your employer. Statutory Paternity Pay is paid by
employers for either one or two consecutive weeks as you choose. The
rate of Statutory Paternity Pay is the same as the standard rate of
Statutory Maternity Pay - from April 2005, this is £106 a week or 90%
of average weekly earnings if this is less than £106.
If your average weekly earnings are below the Lower Earnings Limit for
National Insurance (£82 a week from April 2005) you do not qualify for
SPP. If you do not qualify for SPP, or you are normally low-paid, you
may be able to get Income Support while on paternity leave. Additional
financial support may be available through Housing Benefit, Council Tax
Benefit, Tax Credits or a Sure Start Maternity Grant. Further
information is available from your local Jobcentre Plus office or
Social Security office.
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Where to find additional or further information:
- Local Benefits Office or the Citizens Advice Buraeu
- Your employer - HR department, trade union
- Tiger - To check your own
maternity rights, a great site to use is Tiger. This is an interactive
website which covers both the existing and the new rights. There is
also an interactive calendar to help with planning leave and a form to
help with notifying employers about maternity leave intentions.
- DTI - To
find out the latest changes to you right, please take this link to a basic summary,
supplied by the DTI.
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Other relevant Career articles......
How to ensure a smooth transition back to work after an accident
Going Back To Work Following an Accident
Maternity Leave Rights
Discrimination Issues - Age, Sex, Race, Disability etc
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