Introduction
This article is useful reading for expectant fathers. If you are an employer, we have an article on your paternity pay and leave related responsibilities here.
This article provides a basic summary of paternity leave and pay. Since April 2003, expectant fathers have the right to paid paternity leave providing they meet certain conditions.
The basics of paternity leave and pay
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.
Rights to Paternity Leave are additional to your normal holiday allowance.
Are you entitled to paid statutory paternity leave?
To qualify for paternity pay and leave you must be an ‘employee’. If you are a ‘worker’ you will not qualify for leave but may qualify for pay.
An ‘employee’ has a contract of service or apprenticeship whether express or implied. An employee:
- is under the control of the employer
- is part and parcel of the employer's undertaking
- is not in business on their own account·
- there exists mutuality of obligation between employer and employee
They are entitled to all rights, including unfair dismissal, redundancy and maternity rights - including all those rights enjoyed by workers.
A ‘worker’ is someone who is not an employee but who has agreed pursuant to a contract (which can be oral or written, express or implied) to personally perform services for another party and who is not a client or customer of any profession or business carried on by the individual.
They are entitled to discrimination rights, unlawful deduction from wages, rights in respect of the Working Time Regulations (including holiday rights), minimum wage rights; right to be accompanied at disciplinary and grievance procedures; rights under the Part Timer Workers (prevention of less favourable treatment).
You can take statutory paternity leave if you:
- are an employee, with a contract of employment (most agency workers and sub contractors don't 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's 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 £84 a week), you have the right to unpaid paternity leave if you meet the other conditions, and could get Income Support while on paternity leave.
What if I don’t qualify?
If you don’t qualify for paternity leave, your employer may be prepared to give you some time off, or you could take paid holiday.
How much paternity leave can I take?
You can take either one or two weeks. You can’t 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’s expected to be born
Your leave can start on any day of the week (but not before the baby is born), but has to finish within 56 days of the baby being born or, if the baby’s 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’re only allowed one period of paternity leave.
How much will I be paid?
- If you take paternity leave, and earn more than lower earnings limit (LEL) (currently £84 a week) for National Insurance contributions you will be entitled to statutory paternity pay (SPP).
- SPP is currently £108.85 a week.
- If your average weekly earnings are lower than £108.85, you will be paid 90% of your average weekly earnings.
- You pay tax and National Insurance in the same way as on your regular wages.
- 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.
How to tell your employer you want to take paternity leave
To qualify for leave, you must tell your employer in writing at least 15 weeks before the beginning of the week when the baby’s due. You must tell them:
- when the baby is due
- whether you want one or two weeks’ leave
- when you want the leave to start
You can change the date that the leave starts, as long as you give 28 days’ notice.
What happens if I don’t give the proper notice for statutory leave or pay?
If you can’t give the full notice period to your employer for a valid reason (e.g. if the baby arrives early), you should still give as much notice as possible. You may still receive leave and pay if you meet the other conditions. If there is no valid reason (e.g. you simply forgot) you will lose your entitlement.
Will the terms and conditions of my employment change because I take paternity leave?
You get all your normal employment benefits (apart from wages) during your paternity leave. You’ll be able to go back to the same job, and your employer shouldn't treat you unfairly or sack you for taking or asking to take paternity leave.
What to do if you have problems
If your boss refuses, talk to the person above them, or to the HR department. If you have an employee representative (e.g. a trade union official), they may be able to help.
If this doesn’t work, you may need to make a complaint using your employer’s internal grievance procedure.
If you’re still unhappy, you have the right to make a complaint to an Employment Tribunal.
Can I get paternity leave and pay if I adopt a child?
If you or your partner adopt a child or baby, you may be entitled to paternity leave and pay. When a couple adopts they can choose who takes, if eligible, the paternity leave and pay and who takes the adoption leave and pay.
Relevant Net Lawman document templates:
Relevant Net Lawman articles
| 
