Paternity and the Law

As an expecting father you are filled with a huge range of emotions, from excitement to anxiety. With everything on your mind as you prepare for your child, one thing you don’t want to worry about is how becoming a dad will affect your job. If you take the time to plan your paternity leave, liaise with your employer and keep the lines of communication open, you should be able to enjoy the arrival of your new born without the pressure to go back to work. As a separated dad you can access the same rights, as long as you follow the procedures.

Who Can Take Paternity Leave?

Every employee has a right to paternity leave, but there are rules as to who is eligible for paternity leave, and you will need to check that you fit in the criteria to ensure you are able to access paternity leave pay. First of all, you MUST be an employee, not self-employed. You must also be taking the leave with a view to supporting the initial stages of childrearing. You must ensure that:

• The child is biologically your own or;
• You are adopting a child.

As long as you satisfy one of these criteria you can apply for paternity leave, as long as you are employed and have been an employee of the same company for at least 26 weeks before either:

• The end of the 15th week of pregnancy before the week of the due date or;
• The end of the week when you are told that you are matched with an adoptee.

How Much Paternity Leave Can I Have?

Paternity leave is taken in addition to paid holiday. Paternity leave can be taken for up to a maximum of 2 weeks. If you choose to take this amount of time, you have to take the time in consecutive weeks. You can choose to take a single week instead of two, but you cannot choose to take a second week at a different time if you choose to take a week. The week is based on your standard week, that is, if you work 3 days a week, you will get 3 days paternity leave in the week, if you work 5 days per week, you will receive 5 days of paternity leave.

It is important to note that you cannot take paternity leave for antenatal appointments, and if you want to be at these appointments you will need to talk with your employer, and probably take holiday time to cover the appointments. You should take the time to discuss time off with your employer, as many companies have more generous paternity leave schemes for their employees.

You must take the paternity leave within 56 days of your child’s birth, and it cannot start before the baby arrives.

What Paternity Pay Am I Eligible to Receive?

Standard paternity leave is called Ordinary Paternity Leave. If you satisfy the above criteria you may qualify for Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay. This is paid for the length of your paternity leave, and is paid at a rate of £128.73 per week, or 90% of your average weekly wage, if this happens to be the lower amount.

How Do I Take Paternity Leave?

It is essential that you open communications with your employer as early as possible once you know that you are expecting a child. You must inform your employer of:

• The expected date of your new arrival;
• The number of weeks you intend to take leave on;
• When you want the Ordinary Paternity Leave to begin.

You will need to inform your employer in writing about your choice to take paternity leave. This must be done in enough time to give your employer adequate notice. This must be:

• At least 15 weeks prior to the due date week;
• Within a week of being told that you are going to adopt a child.

To inform your employer of your paternity leave choice, you can use a ‘self-certificate’ form, known as an SC3, which is available from the direct.gov website.

If you are unable to give your employer sufficient notice for a valid reason then you should still give as much notice as possible. Valid reasons might be an early arrival or a lack of notice from your adoption agency. If you simply forget to inform your employer, you will lose any entitlement that you might have. You can change your Ordinary Paternity Leave date if you wish, as long as you give 28 days’ notice to your employer.

What is Additional Paternity Leave?

Since April 2011 some new parents have the right to take up to 26 weeks extra paternity leave. This will depend on the working circumstances of your child’s mother, and so you should investigate this further if you think that you will need to take time away from work once your child’s mother begins working again.

Problems With Paternity Leave?

If you find you’re having issues with your Ordinary Paternity Leave you need to talk to your employer in the first instance. They will be able to give you the best advice regarding your employment. If you feel that you are not getting the help you require, you should make use of your company grievance policy. Remember you have the right to Ordinary Paternity Leave, and if you follow the procedures properly and make sure you give adequate notice, you should be able to enjoy the first precious days of being a father.