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Paternity leave: births

Qualifying for paternity leave

An employee qualifies for statutory paternity leave on the birth of a baby if they are:

  • The biological father of the baby and have or expect to have responsibility for the baby's upbringing
  • Not the child's biological father but the mother's husband or partner (including same-sex partner or civil partner) and have or expect to have the main responsibility for the child (along with the mother). A partner is someone who lives with the mother of the baby in an enduring family relationship but is not an immediate relative.

In addition, they must:

  • Have at least 26 weeks' continuous employment with you (length of service) ending with the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (EWC) - the qualifying week
  • Be working for you from the qualifying week up to the date of birth. If their contract ends before the birth, they do not qualify for leave - unless they go on to work for an associated employer. If their contract ends after the birth, they retain their right to leave (and statutory paternity pay if they qualify)
  • Be taking the time off to support the mother and/or care for the baby
  • Have fulfilled the notice requirements (see below).

The EWC is the week in which the expected date of the baby's birth falls starting with the preceding Sunday and ending the following Saturday.

An employee will still be entitled to take statutory paternity leave in the following situations:

  • Provided they have 26 weeks' service by the 14th week before the EWC, they retain their entitlement to paternity leave even if the baby is born early and they do not have 26 weeks' service at the time of the birth. This is because their entitlement is determined by the date of the EWC, not the actual date the baby is born.
  • If the employee's wife or partner gives birth to a stillborn baby after 24 weeks of pregnancy. (If the stillbirth occurs before the end of the 24th week of pregnancy, you could allow the employee to take sick or compassionate leave instead.)
  • If the baby is born alive but then later dies.

Length of paternity leave and when it can start

Length

Eligible employees can choose to take up to 2 weeks' paternity leave.

In Northern Ireland, this must be taken as a single block of leave (i.e. 1 week or 2 weeks).

In England, Wales and Scotland, if the EWC is after 6 April 2024, employees can choose to take the leave in a single block or in 2 separate blocks of 1 week.

The duration of leave remains the same regardless of the number of children resulting from a single pregnancy.

Start date

An employee cannot start their leave until the baby is born, but does have a choice of 3 options for when it can start:

1. On the actual date of the baby's birth.

2. A specified number of days (of their choice) after the baby's birth.

3. On a particular date (which can't be earlier than the EWC). If the baby is not born by this date, they must at that point choose another date or one of the options above and give you notice of this as soon as possible (in writing, if you ask for it to be).

If an employee specifies the date of birth as the day they wish to start their paternity leave and they are at work on that day, their leave will begin on the next day.

Deadlines

In Northern Ireland:

  • If the baby was born during or after the EWC, all paternity leave must finish no later than 56 days after the date of birth.
  • If the baby was born before the EWC, all paternity leave must finish no later than 56 days after the first day of the EWC.

In England, Wales and Scotland, where the EWC is after 6 April 2024:

  • If the baby was born during or after the EWC, all paternity leave must finish no later than 52 weeks after the date of birth.
  • If the baby was born before the EWC, all paternity leave must finish no later than 52 weeks no later than the first day of the EWC.

Notice requirements

In Northern Ireland

By the end of the 15th week before the EWC, the employee must tell you:

  • The date of the EWC
  • Whether they want to take 1 or 2 weeks of paternity leave
  • When they want their paternity leave to start.

This doesn't have to be in writing unless you ask for it to be.

You can also ask the employee to give you a signed declaration that says:

  • They will use the time to care for the child and/or support the child's mother; and
  • They're the father and will have responsibility for the child, or that they're the husband or partner of the mother and (with them) will have the main responsibility for the child.

In England, Wales and Scotland

Where the EWC is after 6 April 2024, there are 2 sets of notice requirements:

Requirement 1

By the end of the 15th week before the EWC, the employee must give you:

  • The date of the EWC (this doesn't have to be given in writing unless you ask for it to be); and
  • A written declaration that they're the father and will have responsibility for the child, or that they're the husband or partner of the mother and (with them) will have the main responsibility for the child.

Requirement 2

The employee must also give you the following at least 28 days before either the paternity leave start date, or the first day of the EWC (if they plan to start paternity leave on the date of birth):

  • When they want their paternity to leave to start and how long they want it to last (this doesn't have to be given in writing unless you ask for it to be); and
  • A written declaration that they will use the time to care for the child and/or support the child's mother.

If the employee splits their paternity leave into 2 separate periods of 1 week and notifies you of each period separately, this requirement applies to both periods.

If notice is given late

Throughout the UK, if the employee misses the deadline for any of the notice requirements outlined above, you're not under any obligation to allow paternity leave, unless it was not reasonably practicable for the employee to meet the deadline (e.g. if the mother of baby did not realise she was pregnant).

If this is the case, the employee must still provide you with the notice as soon as it is reasonably practicable for them to do so.

Date of birth

The employee does not have to give you any medical evidence of the pregnancy, but they must tell you (in writing, if you ask for that) the actual date of birth. They must give you this as soon as reasonably practicable after the birth.

Changing the start date of leave

The employee can change the date when they want their paternity leave to start (or cancel it) if they give you the correct amount of notice (which you can request they put in writing).

In Northern Ireland

If the employee wants to change their leave so it starts on the date of birth, they must tell you at least 28 days before the first day of the EWC.

If they want to change their leave so it starts on a specific date, they must tell you at least 28 days before that date.

If they want to change their leave so it starts a specified number of days after the birth, they must tell you at least 28 days before the expected start of their leave. The expected start is the first day of the EWC, plus the number of days they've specified. For example, if the employee wants to start their leave 14 days after the birth and the EWC begins on 16 July, the expected start date is 30 July. They will need to tell you 28 days before this (i.e. by 2 July).

In England, Wales and Scotland

Where the EWC is after 6 April 2024, they must tell you at least 28 days before the date they originally gave you, or 28 days before the new start date (whichever is earlier).

For example, if in the last notice given to you they said they wanted to start their leave on 30 July:

  • If they instead want it to start on 31 July, they need to tell you no later than 2 July (28 days before 30 July).
  • If they instead want it to start on 29 July, they need to tell you no later than 1 July (28 days before 29 July).

The employee doesn't have to put the change in writing, unless you ask them to.

When the employee gives you notice of the change, they must also give you a written declaration that they'll use the amended period of leave to care for the child and/or support the child's mother.

Exceptions

Throughout the UK, if it's not reasonably practicable for the employee to give the correct amount of notice to change their paternity leave start date, they can still change it provided they give you notice as soon as it is reasonably practicable.

As mentioned above, in a situation where the employee has chosen to begin their paternity leave on a specific date and the child is not then born by that date, they must change it. They must:

  • tell you their choice as soon as reasonably practicable (in writing, if you ask for it to be); and
  • (only in England, Wales and Scotland where the EWC is after 6 April 2024) give you a written declaration that they'll use the amended period of leave to care for the child and/or support the child's mother.

What is the law guide

The Desktop Lawyer law guide aims to present the law to you in a comprehensive yet jargon-free and easy-to-read format. Our law guide is constantly kept up to date with changes in business and family law by our team of in house solicitors, and includes information across all the legal jurisdictions in the UK.

Our law guide is free to use. Where we provide documents related to this area of law, or where they may help you with any legal issue in this area, they will be listed to the right of this message.

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