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If your wife, partner or civil partner is having a baby, there are two ways for you to take time off to spend with your new family. One is ordinary paternity leave, which is for two weeks. The other is additional paternity leave, which allows you to take another 26 weeks off.
Ordinary paternity leave
You are able to take up to two weeks' leave from work in the period immediately after your baby is born. This is called ordinary paternity leave.
You are entitled to ordinary paternity leave and benefits if:
You are the baby’s biological father or the mum’s husband or partner.
You have, or expect to have, responsibility for the baby’s care.
You are an employee with a contract of employment.
You have worked for your employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the week the baby is due.
If you qualify for ordinary paternity leave, you can take either one or two weeks' leave. If you take two weeks' leave, the weeks must be consecutive.
Unless you earn less than £109 a week before tax, you will qualify for ordinary statutory paternity pay (OSPP). You will receive this for the one or two weeks you choose to take for your ordinary paternity leave.
OSPP is paid at the same rate as statutory maternity pay. You will receive a standard rate of £136.78 per week or 90 per cent of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. Check directgov for more information on this.
If you do not qualify for OSPP, or earn less than £109 a week, you may be entitled to income support while on ordinary paternity leave (OPL). Other financial support may also be available. Contact your local Jobcentre Plus office for advice.
If you’re planning to take OPL, you must inform your employer in writing at least 15 weeks before the week when your child is due. You can choose for your leave to start immediately after your baby is born or in the following eight weeks. If your baby is born early, you can still take your leave within eight weeks of the expected week of birth.
Your employer will need to know:
the week your baby is due
how much leave you want to take
when you want your leave to start
You can change your mind about the start date as long as you give your employer at least 28 days' notice, if that's practical. Check your employment contract, as some employers offer their own paternity benefits which may suit you better than the statutory arrangements.
If you're a dad of twins, triplets or more, you're only allowed one period of ordinary paternity leave. It doesn't make a difference how many babies are born as the result of the same pregnancy.
If you and your partner experience the loss of your baby after 24 weeks of pregnancy, you can still take ordinary paternity leave. But you will need to meet all the other conditions above.
Additional paternity leave
After talking through the options with your partner, you might decide to take extra time off to spend with your baby. If your partner goes back to work before her maternity leave ends, you may have the right to up to 26 weeks' additional paternity leave.
To qualify you must:
Be taking time off to care for your baby.
Be an employee with a contract of employment.
Have been with your employer for at least 26 weeks. This is measured against the end of the 15th week before the start of the week when your baby is due.
And your partner must:
Have been entitled to one or more of the following: statutory maternity leave, statutory maternity pay, or maternity allowance.
Have started working again and no longer be receiving maternity pay.
You can take your additional paternity leave between 20 weeks and one year after your baby is born.
As well as leave, you may also be entitled to additional paternity pay. You'll be paid a standard rate of £136.78 per week or 90 per cent of your average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. To find out more go to the Directgov website.
Until your children are 17, you have the right to apply to work flexibly. Your employer has a duty to consider your request seriously. Directgov has detailed information on this.
If you've completed one year's service with your employer, you're also entitled to 18 weeks' unpaid parental leave to care for your child.
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