Paternity leave and pay

If you are a father-to-be or you will be responsible with the mother for bringing up a child, you have the right to paid paternity leave if you fulfil required conditions.

If you have worked for your employer before your partner’s pregnancy began, you probably have the right to paid paternity leave. Some employers have their own paternity leave arrangements – check your contract of employment. You can always choose the statutory arrangement if this suits you better. Paternity leave is additional to your normal holiday allowance.

To be eligible for paternity pay and leave you must be an employee. You can take statutory paternity leave if you:

• are an employee, with a contract of employment (most agency workers and sub-contractors do not have the right to paid paternity leave) and
• are the biological father of the child, or are the mother’s husband or partner (including a mother’s partner in a same-sex relationship) and
• have been with your employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the beginning of the week when the baby is due and
• will be fully involved in the child’s upbringing and are taking the time off to support the mother or care for the baby.

This leave is paid if you earn at least the lower earnings limit (LEL) for National Insurance contributions. If you earn less than the LEL, (currently £97 a week).If you take paternity leave and meet the LEL, you will be paid statutory paternity pay (SPP) during your leave. The amount of SPP is £124.88 or 90 per cent of your average weekly earnings if this is lower. You pay tax and National Insurance in the same way as on your regular wages. Your employer reclaims the majority of SPP from their National Insurance contributions. To qualify for SPP, you must pay tax and national insurance as an employee. You must give your employer 28 days’ notice of the date on which you want SPP to start.

If you do not qualify for paternity leave, your employer may be prepared to give you some time off or you could take paid holiday.

You can take either one or two weeks. You cannot take odd days off and if you take two weeks, they must be taken together. You can choose to start the leave:

• on the day the baby is born;
• a number of days or weeks after the baby is born;
• from a specific date after the first day of the week in which the baby is expected to be born.

Your leave can start on any day of the week but has to finish within 56 days of the baby being born or if the baby is born before the week it was due, within 56 days of the first day of that week. If your partner has a multiple birth, you are only allowed one period of paternity leave.

http://www.netlawman.co.uk

Subscribe To Site:

Full Post Feed | Summary Feed | Comments Feed