Paternity leave
An employee whose wife, civil partner or partner gives birth to a child, or who is the biological father of the child, is entitled to two weeks' paternity leave provided that they have 26 weeks' continuous service by the end of the 15th week before the week in which the child is expected.
Paternity leave is also available to adoptive parents where a child is matched or newly placed with them for adoption. Either the adoptive father or the adoptive mother may take paternity leave where the other adoptive parent has elected to take adoption leave. A separate policy is available in respect of adoption leave. To be eligible for paternity leave, you must have 26 weeks' continuous service ending with the week in which the child's adopter is notified of having been matched with the child for adoption.
To qualify for paternity leave, you must also have, or expect to have, responsibility for the upbringing of the child and be making the request to help care for the child or to support the child's mother.
Paternity leave is granted in addition to your normal annual holiday entitlement. Paternity leave must be taken in a single block of one or two weeks within eight weeks of the birth or adoption of the child. If the child is born early, it must be taken from the time of the birth but within eight weeks of the expected date of childbirth. Paternity leave can start either from the date the child is born or placed for adoption or from a chosen number of days or weeks after that date.
If you wish to take both paternity leave and shared parental leave (see below) you must take your period of paternity leave first. You cannot take paternity leave if you have already taken a period of shared parental leave in relation to the same child.
Notification of paternity leave
To request paternity leave in respect of a birth child, you must give your line manager 15 weeks' written notice of the date on which your partner's baby is due, the length of paternity leave you wish to take and the date on which you wish the leave to commence.
In the case of an adopted child, you must give written notice of your intention to take paternity leave no later than seven days after the date on which notification of the match with the child was given by the adoption agency. The notice must specify the date the child is expected to be placed for adoption, the date you intend to start paternity leave, the length of the intended paternity leave period and the date on which the adopter was notified of having been matched with the child.
If you subsequently wish to change the timing of the paternity leave, you must give 28 days' written notice of the new dates. You must also, if so requested, complete and sign a self-certificate declaring that you are entitled to paternity leave and statutory paternity pay.
Paternity Pay
During your paternity leave you will be paid enhanced paternity pay which is equivalent to your normal salary (and includes Statutory Paternity Pay).
Statutory paternity pay is treated as earnings and is therefore subject to PAYE and national insurance deductions.
Statutory paternity pay can start from any day of the week in accordance with the date you start your paternity leave.
Time off for antenatal care
To be eligible for time off for antenatal care, you could be:
- the husband or civil partner of the pregnant woman
- the biological father of the expected child or
- living with the pregnant woman in an enduring family relationship
You have the right to take time off to accompany the pregnant woman at up to two antenatal appointments. You will, at our discretion, be paid for this time off.
The antenatal appointment must be made on the advice of a registered medical practitioner, midwife or nurse. We expect that normally no more than half a day is needed for an antenatal appointment.
If you would like to make a request for time off to accompany someone at an antenatal appointment should in the first instance contact your line manager.
You should try to give your line manager as much notice as possible of when you need the time off for the antenatal appointment and, wherever possible, try to arrange them as near to the start or end of the working day as possible.
Time off to attend adoption appointments
Employees who are adopting a child are entitled to take time off to attend adoption appointments.
Where an employee is part of a couple jointly adopting a child, the couple can elect for one of them to take paid time off to attend up to five adoption appointments. The other can elect to take time off to attend up to two adoption appointments and we will, at our discretion pay for the time off for these two appointments.
The purpose of the appointment is to enable you to have contact with the child (for example, to bond with him/her before the placement) or for any other purpose connected with the adoption (for example, to meet with the professionals involved in the care of the child).
The time off must be taken before the date of the child's placement for adoption with you and the appointment must have been arranged by or at the request of the adoption agency (you may be asked to provide evidence of this).
Shared parental leave
Shared parental leave enables mothers or adopters to commit to ending their maternity or adoption leave and pay at a future date, and to share the untaken balance of leave and pay as shared parental leave and pay with their partner.
You can choose to take both paternity leave and shared parental leave, but the period of paternity leave must come first. You cannot take paternity leave if you have already taken a period of shared parental leave in relation to the same child.
For more information, please see our shared parental leave policy.