Paternity pay and Leave

Who is entitled to paternity leave?

• The Father of the child;
• The husband or civil partner of the mother/adopter (male or female);
• The child’s adopter; or
• The intended parent (i.e., surrogacy route). 

To be classified as an ‘employee’

You must have continuously worked for your employer for a minimum of 26 weeks up to the ‘qualifying week’. (the ‘qualifying week’ is known as the 15th week before the baby’s due date).

If adopting, the requirement is to be continuously employed by your employer for a minimum of 26 weeks at the point of the ‘matching week’. This can be either:

• National adoptions: the week you are matched with the child;
• International adoptions: the child’s date of entry into the UK; or
• Handling the correct notice procedure. 

 

When can paternity leave be claimed & how long does it last?

Paternity leave can be claimed during the first eight weeks after the birth of the child. However, if the child is adopted, the leave can begin any time up to eight weeks after the child is under the care of the adopter. The leave lasts up to two weeks taken consecutively (i.e., it cannot be broken up into odd days). 

 

Paternity Pay 

Statutory paternity pay is paid during the agreed time of leave. It is a requirement to have the employer confirm the start and end dates during the time in which it is claimed. However, if need be, those dates can be altered given the change be requested with 28 days’ notice. The current rate of pay is (whichever is lower), either £151.20; or 90% of the average weekly earnings (as of Dec 2021).

 

How do I claim paternity leave/pay? 

To claim statutory paternity leave/pay, you must inform your employer 15-weeks before the child’s due date to determine when you want to begin the leave and how long you want the leave to last. This request can be made via form SC3 or a version of the form provided by your respective employer. However, where the request relates to a national adoption, fill out SC4 or if international form SC5. 

 

How we can help

Lestons can intervene if you feel your employer has not given you your allowed leave and pay. To gain our assistance you need to open a case, this is done by taking advantage of our free consultation service, activated by the link at the top of the page, should you wish to start a case the caseworker will send you the suitable payment link.

Please note your caseworker can only give generic advice, their role is to prepare your details for handling by our legal team and to act as your point of contact, they will also issue you with your Password and PIN, these will be needed to log onto your client dashboard. From your dashboard you will be able to manage and view every aspect of your case, upload documents, images, files etc.