Paternity Leave
An employee can take statutory paternity leave if he has a contract of employment, has worked for 26 weeks and is involved as the father of the child.
The employee will be allowed to take one or two weeks paternity leave provided it is within the first eight weeks of the child's birth and is entitled to Statutory Paternity Pay during that time.
To exercise the right the employee must inform their employer of the following:-
- The EWC ( when the birth is anticipated);
- When he wishes to take paternity leave;
- Whether he wishes to take one or two weeks.
The employee can change the start date by giving 28 days notice.
Parental Leave
Employees can take up to 13 weeks (18 weeks for disabled children) unpaid leave for each child upon having one years continuous employment. The leave can start as soon as the child is born or adopted.
The employee has to give at least 21 days notice, the employer can postpone the employee's leave up to 6 months if the business would be unduly disrupted except when leave is required due to the father wishing to be present at the child's birth.
If parental leave was for four weeks or less then the employee has the right to return to the same job. If parental leave is given for more than four weeks and it is not feasible to return to the same job, the employee must be allowed to return to a similar job.