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Parents
Paternity leave and pay: overview
If you are a father-to-be or you will be responsible with the mother for bringing up a child, you could have the right to paternity leave and pay, providing you meet certain conditions. Find out what you are entitled to.
Interactive help
You can get personalised help on what you qualify for by using the online paternity rights at work tool. The tool will give you a personalised statement of the paternity leave and pay that you may qualify for. It will also build an interactive calendar to help you plan your leave.
Are you entitled to paid statutory paternity leave?
To qualify for paternity leave you must be an ‘employee’. If you are a ‘worker’ you will not qualify for leave but may qualify for paternity pay.
You can take statutory paternity leave if you are an employee with an employment contract. You must be taking the time off to support the mother or carer for the baby and intend to be fully involved in their upbringing.
To qualify for leave, you must have been with your employer for at least 26 weeks by either:
- the end of the 15th week before the start of the week when the baby is due
- the end of the week you are notified you are matched with your child
You must also be either the:
- biological father of the child
- mother's husband or partner (including same-sex relationships)
- child's adopter or the partner of the adopter
To qualify for pay you must also earn at least the lower earnings limit (LEL) for National Insurance contributions.
If you earn less than the LEL (currently £95 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.
If you are not an employee, but are an agency worker, office holder or subcontractor, you will not normally have the right to paternity leave. You may be eligible for pay if you meet the other qualifying criteria.
What if you 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 you take?
As long as you meet certain conditions you can take either one or two weeks' paternity leave. 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 is expected to be born
Your leave can start on any day of the week (but not before the baby is born). It has to finish within 56 days of the baby being born. If the baby is born before the week it was due, it must finish within 56 days of the first day of that week. You can start paternity leave after a period of parental leave has ended.
If your partner has a multiple birth, you are only allowed one period of paternity leave.
If you lose your baby
You can still take paternity leave if the child is stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy or is born alive at any point of the pregnancy.
Paternity pay
Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) is paid for one or two consecutive weeks. The current rate is £123.06 a week or 90 per cent of your average weekly earnings, if that is less.
Company schemes
Some employers have their own paternity leave arrangements. These will normally be included in your employment contract. You can always choose the Statutory Paternity Leave arrangement if this suits you better.
Rights to paternity leave are extra to your normal holiday allowance.
Time off for antenatal appointments
Fathers do not have a legal right to time off to accompany their partners to antenatal appointments. The right to paid time off only applies to pregnant employees. Many companies recognise this is an important time and let employees take paid time off or make up the time later.
What to do if you have problems
If you have trouble getting what you are entitled to, talk to your employer first of all. If you think your employer's decision not to pay you Statutory Paternity Pay is wrong, or that you are not getting the right amount, ask them for the reason. If you have an employee representative (eg a trade union official), they may be able to help.
If you still disagree, you can contact the HM Revenue and Customs Employees enquiry line on 0845 302 1479 for advice.
You may need to make a complaint using your employer’s internal grievance procedure.
If you are still unhappy, you have the right to make a complaint to an Employment Tribunal.
