Can I Take Paid Paternity Leave?

The right to paid paternity leave was introduced in April 2003. It is the right to be "absent from work for the purpose of caring for a child or supporting the child's mother".

To qualify for paternity leave you must be:

• an employee i.e. someone with a contract of employment. So some casual, temporary or agency workers may not qualify, and
• the biological father, or
• the husband of the child's mother, or
• the partner of the child's mother (this is defined as a person, whether of a different sex or the same sex, who lives with the mother in an enduring family relationship but is not a blood relative.

You must also:

• have been continuously employed for 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the EWC (if the baby is born early, but the qualifying condition would otherwise have been met, you still qualify);
• still be employed by your employer up to the child's birth;
• have or expect to have responsibility for the upbringing of the child where you are the biological father;
• have or expect to have the main responsibility (apart from the responsibility of the mother of the child) where you are the mother's husband or partner but not the father of the child.

You can choose to take either one or two consecutive weeks' paternity leave. You cannot take the leave at separate times. Leave must be taken within 56 days of the birth. If the baby is born prematurely you can take leave at anytime from the actual date of birth to up to 56 days after the original EWC.

You can choose whether leave starts from:

• the actual day of the child's birth/next working day, or
• a day falling a specified number of days after the birth, or
• a pre-set date after the EWC (but within 56 days of it).

You must give your employer notice of your intention to take paternity leave before the end of 15th week before the baby is due. You must provide the following information:

• the EWC, and
• whether you want to take one or two weeks leave, and
• the start date of the leave. You can vary this date by giving 28 days notice.

If you qualify, you will be entitled to statutory paternity pay (SPP) of £106 a week or 90% of your normal weekly average pay, whichever is the lower, during your paternity leave. To qualify for SPP your average weekly earnings must reach the lower earnings limit for national insurance, (£82 a week from April 2005). The service qualification is the same as for paternity leave. Agency workers, while not qualifying for leave may qualify for SPP.

To claim paternity pay you must provide your employer with a signed declaration confirming your entitlement i.e. your relationship to the child or its mother, that you have responsibility for the child's upbringing and that you are taking leave to care for the child or its support the mother, The Inland Revenue produce a model self-certificate Form SC3 which can be used to give notice. You can use this form to provide notice for leave and pay at the same time. In that case the latest you can give it to your employer is the end of the 15th week before the baby is due.

While on paternity leave your normal terms and conditions (except pay) are protected. You are entitled to return to the same job you were in before taking paternity leave. It is automatically unfair to dismiss you or subject you to any detriment for requesting or taking paternity leave. Before bringing a claim, you should lodge a grievance with your employer. Any claim must be made to an employment tribunal within three months.

If you have more than one job, you may be entitled to paternity leave and pay from your other jobs provided you meet the qualifying conditions for leave and pay for each job.