Statutory paternity leave (SPL)
This section explains who is entitled to statutory paternity leave, what the entitlement is and how to manage paternity leave.
What is paternity leave?
There are two types of paternity leave: ordinary paternity leave and additional paternity leave.
Who is entitled to ordinary paternity leave?
Employees who meet the following qualifying conditions:
- have (or expect to have) responsibility for the child’s upbringing;
- be the biological father of the child or married to, the civil partner or partner of the mother (the partner can be of the same sex as the mother);
- have worked continuously for 26 weeks leading into the 15th week before the week the baby is due; and
- have average weekly earnings of at least the lower earnings limit for National Insurance purposes.
Ordinary paternity leave can start any time in the first eight weeks after the baby is born (unless the baby is born early in which case it can be started any time up to eight weeks after it was expected to be born).
An employer can ask the employee to provide a self-certificate to prove that they meet these conditions. The self-certificate must state that the employee meets the eligibility criteria and give the relevant notice. Employees who are adopting a child are also entitled to receive paternity leave and pay for a child who is newly placed for adoption. When a couple adopt, they can choose which parent takes paternity leave and which takes adoption leave.
What is the length of ordinary paternity leave?
Employees who meet the conditions are entitled to take a maximum of two weeks of paternity leave. In Northern Ireland this can be taken as a single period of either one or two consecutive weeks’ duration (not odd days), this is also the position in Great Britain for paternity leave with respect to children who are due to be born or placed for adoption before 7th April 2024. This should be taken within 56 days of the actual date of birth or the placement for adoption of a child. If the child arrives earlier than expected, the leave must be taken at any time between the actual birth and within 56 days of the expected week of birth.
In Great Britain for children expected to be born or placed for adoption on or after 7th April 2024, employees may choose to take either a single period of leave of either one week or two non-consecutive periods of leave of a week each. This entitlement can be taken within the first 52 weeks after the birth of adoption of the child. If the child arrives earlier than expected, the leave must be taken at any time between the actual birth and within 52 weeks of the expected week of birth Paternity leave can start:
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from the date of the child’s birth, or
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from a chosen number of days/weeks after the date of the child’s birth, or
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from a chosen date.
An employee is only entitled to one period of paternity leave even if more than one child is born as a result of the same pregnancy.
What is the notice requirement for ordinary paternity leave?
Employees will need to notify the employer of the following:
- the expected week of childbirth;
- whether they want to take one or two weeks’ leave;
- when they want their leave to start.
They must notify you of these facts and of their intention to take paternity leave by the 15th week before the baby is expected unless it is not reasonably practicable to do so. They can change their mind about the date they wish to start their leave by letting you know at least 28 days in advance (unless this is not reasonably practicable).
What are the notice requirements for ordinary paternity leave in the case of a UK adoption?
Employees who meet the qualifying conditions for paternity leave must give notice of their intention to take paternity leave no later than 7 days after being notified of the adopter having been matched with the child, or, if this is not reasonably practicable, as soon as it is reasonably practicable. The notice must specify the following:
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the date on which the adopter was notified of having been matched with the child;
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the date on which the child is expected to be placed with the adopter or when the placement started if it has already started
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the length of paternity leave they have chosen to take (one week or two); and
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the date they have chosen for their leave to start and how long it will last.
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Whether they expect to have responsibility for bringing up the child.
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Whether purpose of the leave is to care for the child and/or the child's main adopter, or both.
What are the notice requirements for ordinary paternity leave in the case of an international adoption?
Employees who meet the qualifying conditions for paternity leave must give notice in writing of their intention to take paternity leave within 28 days of the later of either the date of the official notification of adoption or the date they complete 26 weeks of employment or, if this is not reasonably practicable, as soon as it is reasonably practicable. The notice must specify the following:
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The date the child's main adopter received an official notification of the adoption.
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The date the child is expected to enter Great Britain, or if they have already entered Great Britain, the date they entered.
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That they have, or expect to have, responsibility for bringing up the child.
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That they are married to, the civil partner or partner of the child's main adopter.
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That the child's main adopter has received an official notification of the adoption.
Are there any other entitlements during ordinary paternity leave?
Employees are entitled to return to the same job following paternity leave. During paternity leave, they are entitled to the benefit of their normal terms and conditions of employment (except for those relating to wages or salary, unless contract provides otherwise).
Employees are also protected from suffering a detriment or dismissal for taking or trying to take paternity leave. Where this does occur the employee can complain to an Employment Tribunal.
What is additional paternity leave?
Additional paternity leave was introduced by the Additional Paternity Leave Regulations 2010 (APL Regulations 2010) which came into force in April 2010 but only applies to parents of babies due on or after 3 April 2011.
The Regulations give parents the choice to transfer the last 6 months of the mother’s additional maternity leave to the employee who is married to, the civil partner or partner of the mother who would then be able to take up to 6 months additional paternity leave (APL) to care for the child once the mother had returned to work. The mother and employee who is taking AML cannot take maternity leave and APL at the same time.
The Regulations also extend to cover those who are adopting, civil partners and partners of the mother who are not the child’s father but who will have the main responsibility (apart from the mother) for the upbringing of the child.
The APL period must:
- be a minimum of 2 consecutive weeks;
- be a maximum period of 26 weeks;
- be taken in multiples of complete weeks and in one continuous block;
- must begin anytime from 20 weeks after the birth of the baby; and
- must end no later than 12 months after the baby is born.
In order to be eligible for APL the employee must:
- have been eligible for statutory paternity leave;
- have been continuously employed for a minimum of 26 weeks by the relevant week;
- remain in continuous employment with that employer until the week before the APL period begins; and
- have given his employer at least 8 weeks written notice.
An employee taking APL may work for his employer for up to 10 days during the APL period and this will not cause the APL to come to an end. Once the APL period expires, an employee will be entitled to return to the same job in which he was employed before he took APL. Under the APL Regulations 2010 the employee will be entitled to benefit from the terms and conditions of employment (except for those terms relating to remuneration) which would have applied had he been at work.
Employers will need to review any family friendly policies to include the right to APL.
Abolition of additional paternity leave and pay
As a knock-on effect of the introduction of shared parental leave and shared parental pay, additional paternity leave and additional paternity pay have been abolished except in relation to:
- children whose 'expected week of birth' ends on or before 4 April 2015; and,
- children placed for adoption on or before 4 April 2015.