Additional Paternity Leave
Under new Regulations, parents can now choose which of them will take time off work to care for their new child whilst continuing to receive the Statutory Pay allowance.
The Additional Paternity Leave Regulations 2010 specify that fathers or civil partners with responsibility for a child expected to be born or adopted after the 3rd April 2011 will may be entitled to take up to 26 weeks paternity leave provided the mother has returned to work or is treated as having returned to work (her maternity pay or allowance having ceased), therefore effective using what would have been the mother’s entitlement to maternity leave. To qualify, the father or partner must have been continuously employed for a minimum of 26 weeks into the 15th week before the expected week of birth and continue to be employed by that employer up to the week before the leave is to be taken.
As is the case with the existing provisions for paternity leave this leave must to be taken in block weeks and is subject to a two week minimum period. The leave can only be taken more than 20 weeks and less than 12 months from the date of the child’s birth.
Whilst the father or partner is on paternity leave, during what would have been the mother’s 39 week maternity period, they will be eligible for Statutory Paternity Pay at a rate of 90% of normal wages or £124.88 per week, whichever is lower, which is the same allowance as Statutory Maternity Pay.
