Contents
Paternity: Leave and Pay
Rest assured; paternity leave and pay is 2 weeks full pay and 2 weeks half pay for all employees who meet the eligibility criteria.
Employees who are eligible can choose to take four consecutive weeks’ paternity leave or split said leave into two separate blocks. Paternity pay for this period is a total of two weeks full pay and two weeks half pay) which is inclusive of Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP).
Employees can choose to take only the portion of full paid leave and still split this into two blocks, for example, one week paid in full and a further one week paid in full. Or employees may choose to take the full entitlement and split this into two blocks of leave, for example, two weeks paid in full and a further two weeks paid as half pay.
Employees should be aware that leave can be taken consecutively or in two separate blocks only and paternity leave cannot be taken in four separate blocks.
Paternity Leave cannot be taken prior to the birth/adoption but must be taken within 52 weeks after birth/adoption. Paternity leave can start on any day of the week following the birth or the end of the week in which the child’s adopter is notified of being matched with the child.
Only one qualifying period of paternity leave will be available to an employee irrespective of whether more than one child is born as a result of a pregnancy.