EMPLOYMENT
LEGISLATION
PATERNITY
– LEAVE AND PAY
A basic summary (PL514 Rev 1)
The
Government is committed to helping working parents. Rights to paternity leave
and pay have been introduced which are available to employees whose children are expected to be born,
or are born, on or after 6 April 2003.
At
the same time, the Government is increasing and extending maternity leave
and pay, introducing rights to paid leave for adoptive parents, and the
right for parents of young children to apply to work flexibly. These rights, together with
rights to parental
leave and time off for dependants, will provide parents with more opportunities
than ever before to balance work and family life, whilst being compatible with,
and beneficial to, business efficiency.
This
document provides basic information on the new rights to paternity leave and pay. It does not attempt to describe the detail, and should not be taken as an
authoritative statement of the law.
Paternity
leave and pay is available to employees following the placement of a
child for adoption. See Adoptive
parents - rights to leave and pay (PL515)
for more details.
Following
the birth of a child, the new rights to paternity leave and pay will give
eligible employees the right to take paid leave to care for the child or support
the mother.
Start dates
Employees
whose children are expected to be born on or after 6 April 2003 will benefit
from the new paternity leave and pay provisions.
Employees
whose children are expected to be born on or after 6 April 2003, can take paternity leave and pay even if their children are born earlier than
expected.
Employees
whose children are expected to be born before 6 April 2003 but whose children
are born later than expected on or after 6 April 2003, can take paternity leave and pay (special notice arrangements will apply).
Eligibility
Employees
must satisfy the following conditions in order to qualify for paternity
leave. They must:
-
have or expect to have responsibility for the child’s upbringing
-
be the biological father of the child or the mother’s husband or
partner
-
have worked continuously for their employer for 26 weeks
ending with the
15th week before the baby is due.
Employers can
ask their employees to provide a self-certificate (see below for further
details) as evidence that they meet these eligibility conditions.
Length
of paternity leave
Eligible
employees can choose to take either one week or two consecutive
weeks’ paternity leave (not odd days).
They
can choose to start their leave:
-
from the date of the child’s birth (whether this is earlier or later
than expected), or
-
from a chosen number of days or weeks after the date of the child’s
birth (whether this is earlier or later than expected), or
-
from a chosen date
later than the first day of the week in which the baby is expected to be
born.
Leave can start
on any day of the week on or following the child’s birth but must be completed:
-
within 56 days of the actual date of birth of the child, or
-
if the child is born early, within the period from the actual date of
birth up to 56 days after the first day of the expected week of birth.
Only
one period of leave is available to employees irrespective of whether more
than one child is born as the result of the same pregnancy.
Statutory
Paternity Pay
During their
paternity leave, most employees are entitled to Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP)
from their employers.
Statutory
Paternity Pay is paid by employers for either one or two consecutive weeks
as the employee has chosen. The
rate of Statutory Paternity Pay is the same as the standard rate of
Statutory Maternity Pay - from April 2003, this will be £100 a week or 90% of
average weekly earnings if this is less than £100.
Any
paternity pay period which starts before 6 April 2003 is paid for the full
period at the same standard rate as Statutory Maternity Pay from April 2002 – £75
a week.
Employees who
have average weekly earnings below the Lower Earnings Limit for National
Insurance purposes (£75 a week from April 2002) do not qualify for SPP.
Employees who do not qualify for SPP, or who are normally low-paid, may be able
to get Income Support while on paternity leave. Additional financial support may be available through Housing Benefit,
Council Tax Benefit, Tax Credits or a Sure Start Maternity Grant. Further
information is available from your local Jobcentre Plus office or Social
Security office.
Notice of
intention to take paternity leave
Employees
must inform their employers of their intention to take paternity leave
by the end of the fifteenth week before the baby is expected, unless this is not reasonably
practicable. They must tell
their employers:
Employees
can change their mind about the date on which they want their leave to
start providing they tell their employer at least 28 days in advance (unless
this is not reasonably practicable). Employees
must tell their employers the date they expect any payments of SPP to
start at least 28 days in advance, unless this is not reasonably practicable.
Self certificate
Employees
must give their employers a completed self-certificate as evidence of their
entitlement to SPP. A model self
certificate for employers and employees to use is available in Working
fathers - rights to leave and pay (PL517). Employers can also request a completed self certificate as evidence of
entitlement to paternity leave. The
self certificate must include a declaration that the employee meets certain
eligibility conditions and provide the information specified above as part of
the notice requirements.
By providing a
completed self certificate, employees will be able to satisfy both the notice
and evidence conditions for paternity leave and pay. Employers will not be expected to carry out any further
checks.
Contractual benefits
Employees are
entitled to the benefit of their normal terms and conditions of employment,
except for terms relating to wages or salary (unless their contract of
employment provides otherwise), throughout their paternity leave. However, most employees will be entitled to SPP for this period. If the employee has a contractual right to paternity leave as well as the
statutory right, he may take advantage of whichever is the more favourable. Any
paternity pay to which he has a contractual right reduces the amount of SPP to
which he is entitled.
Return to work after paternity
leave
Employees
are entitled to return to the same job following paternity leave.
Protection from detriment and
dismissal
Employees
are protected from suffering unfair treatment or dismissal for taking, or seeking
to take, paternity leave. Employees
who believe they have been treated unfairly can complain to an
employment tribunal.
Employers' recovery of payments
Employers
can recover the amount of Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) they pay out in
the same way as they can claim back Statutory Maternity Pay. Employers
can claim back 92% of the payments they make, with
those eligible for small employers relief able to claim back 100% plus an
additional amount in compensation for the employer’s portion of National
Insurance contributions paid on SPP.
In addition,
employers who need can get funding in advance for payments of
SPP from the Inland Revenue.
Other
Family Friendly Rights
Right to apply to work flexibly
A
right for parents of young, or disabled children, to request flexible
working is being introduced. From 6 April 2003 eligible employees who are parents
of children aged under six, or of disabled children aged under 18, will have the
right to apply to work flexibly. Their employers will have a duty to consider
such requests seriously. See
Flexible working
– the right to apply (PL516).
Changes
to maternity rights
Existing maternity rights are being
changed to extend the period of maternity leave and pay, and to increase the
rate of maternity pay. Women whose expected week of
childbirth begins on or after 6 April 2003 benefit from the new maternity
leave and pay rights.
See Maternity leave – changes (PL507).
Rights to paid leave for adoptive parents
A
right to adoption leave and pay is being introduced. The
right is available to individuals who adopt, or one member of a couple where the couple adopt jointly. A
right to paternity leave and
pay for the other member of the couple, or an adopter’s spouse or partner, is also being
introduced. Employees whose children are placed with them on or
after 6 April 2003 benefit from these adoption and paternity leave and
pay rights.
See Adoptive parents
– rights to leave and
pay (PL515).
Rights
to parental leave and time off for dependants
Employees
– both mothers and fathers – who have completed one year’s service with their
employers are entitled to 13 weeks’ (unpaid) parental leave to care
for their child. Parental leave can usually be taken up to 5 years from the date
of birth or in cases of adoption five years from the date of placement (or the
child’s 18th birthday, if that is sooner).
Parents
of disabled children are entitled to 18 weeks’ parental leave (previously 13
weeks) up to the child’s 18th birthday, providing they have the
qualifying length of service. See Parental leave
(PL509)  (228Kb).
All
employees are also entitled to take a reasonable amount of (unpaid) time off
work to deal with an emergency or unexpected situation involving a dependant.
See Time off for dependants
(96Kb).
Further
information
Both
employers and employees can use the
DTI's website and its interactive guidance
site - TIGER
to work out entitlements to paternity and maternity leave and pay.
Employers
can get more information on SPP from the Inland Revenue.
(who produce an employer's helpbook E15 Pay and time off work for parents
(copies available from 08457 64 66 46). For additional help, employers may phone the employers’ helpline on 08457 14 31 43.
Further
advice on employment law matters, including the new rights, as well as good practice guidance is available from Acas.
Small
businesses can register at businesslink to receive reminders and
updates about changes to employment law. Information is also available on a wide
range of help for small businesses.
Information on all aspects of employment legislation can usually be
provided by accountants, citizens advice bureaux, employer organisations, legal
advisers, low pay units, trade unions and a number of private sector and
voluntary bodies.
Detailed
guidance on paternity leave and pay 
(955Kb)
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