Question

An employee has informed me that his partner is due to give birth to their baby in early May 2011, what additional paternity leave/pay is he entitled to, if any?

Answer

The first key point here is the date the baby is due to be born, because under the Additional Paternity Leave Regulations , which came into force on 3 April 2010, fathers of babies due on or after 3 April 2011 now have the right to take up to 26 weeks’ Additional Paternity Leave (APL). This is in addition to their existing two week Ordinary Paternity Leave entitlement. The employee will only be entitled to APL if he:

  • has been continuously employed by you for at least 26 weeks’ ending the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth
  • remains in continuous employment until the week before he wants to start his APL
  • is taking the time off to care for the child

When he can take APL is also covered by the Regulations which stipulate that the start date of the APL must be at least 8 weeks after he has submitted his request to you. He will be entitled to one period of APL which must be taken in multiples of complete weeks and not less than 2 and not more than 26 weeks long. In any case, he can only take the APL once the child’s mother has returned to work, and between 20 weeks and one year after the child was born. The child’s mother must have been entitled to Statutory Maternity Leave, Statutory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance and have returned to work and ceased to claim any relevant pay.

Don't forget that he may also be entitled to claim Additional Statutory Paternity Pay ('ASPP') . For this, he must earn at least the lower earnings limit for National Insurance Contributions In addition, the mother of the child must have stopped claiming any maternity pay, with at least two weeks of unexpired Statutory Pay remaining. ASPP will only be payable to him during the period of the mother’s 39 week Statutory Pay period. Any leave taken after this period has ended will be unpaid. If ASPP is payable, it will be at the normal statutory maternity pay rate, which is increasing to £128.73 a week from 11 April 2011 or 90% of his earnings, if this is lower.

If you would like to know more, please contact Reema Jethwa, Employment lawyer, in confidence and without obligation by emailing Reema or by calling her on 08450 990045, or speak to your usual contact in the Employment Team.

This answer is provided for information only and does not constitute legal advice. Professional legal advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article.

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