Looking for some time off to support your partner after the birth of a child or following an adoption?
See below for guidance on paternity leave and pay.
Ordinary paternity leave is time off to care for the newborn child or to support the mother following the birth or to support the adoptive parents.
Eligibility and entitlement
In addition to Maternity Support Leave/Adoption Support Leave, a father, husband or partner of an expectant mother, who has 26 weeks continuous service with the council at the start of the 14th week before the expected week of childbirth, is entitled to one week’s statutory paternity leave which will be topped up to full pay.
This period of leave must be taken as consecutive days and cannot be broken into smaller periods of leave.
To qualify for statutory/occupational paternity leave, you must be:
• The biological father, or
• Adopter of the child, or
• The mother’s (or adopter’s) husband, partner or civil partner, or
• Have, or expect to have, responsibility for the child’s upbringing.
Statutory paternity leave can be taken either from the date of the child’s birth or from another date after the child’s birth. The leave can start on any day of the week, but must be taken within 56 days of the actual birth of the child. If the child is born early, the leave must be taken within the period from the actual date of the birth up to 56 days after the expected week of childbirth.
In addition to statutory paternity leave a father, husband or partner of an expectant mother is entitled to two additional week’s occupational paternity leave at full pay. This leave must be taken within 12 months from the date of the birth and in blocks of no less than one week (subject to the exigencies of the service).
If an employee wishes to take statutory paternity leave, he/she must notify the line manager, in writing, using Form PS18, of the intention to take paternity leave, by the 14th week before the expected week of childbirth.
If an employee wishes to alter the date on which leave will commence, he/she must give 28 days’ notice of this alteration, in writing, where this is reasonably practicable, to his/her line manager. An employee can apply for occupational paternity leave by requesting this through myself. Further guidance is contained in the Special Leave Policy Guidance Note.
How to apply
For maternity: Completion of Form HR 01 for submission to the line manager by the 15th week before the week the baby is due.
For adoption: Complete either Form HR 02 (UK adoption) or HR 03 (overseas adoption) and submit this to your line manager within the timescales detailed in 1.5 of the attached guidance.
In addition to one week of Ordinary Paternity Leave and Statutory Pay, Maternity or Adoption Support Leave of five days at full pay continues to be available to eligible employees.
To apply for Maternity Support Leave, Form HR 07 should be completed for submission to the line manager prior to the period of leave, providing as much notice as possible of the proposed dates.
To apply for Adoption Support Leave, Form HR 08 should be completed for submission to the line manager prior to the period of leave, providing as much notice as possible of the proposed dates.