Paternity Leave – Know your Rights and Responsibilities

The legalities of maternity leave can be confusing enough, but paternity leave adds to these complexities through the issue of under-exposure. Many new fathers do not know what to expect legally from their employer when they choose to take paternity leave; and they don’t know what responsibilities they must comply with. We’ve shone a spotlight on the issue to illustrate the key points, but for a fuller picture of legalities, click here.

Ordinary Paternity Leave

Ordinary Paternity Leave (OPL) was introduced in April 2003, entitling eligible employees to 1-2 weeks of paid leave. This is available in cases where a partner has given birth or where you’re adopting a child, so explore your rights with your employer from this basic premise. As a move towards shared parental rights, you can now receive up to 26 weeks of paid leave, as Additional Paternity Leave (APL) if the mother, or co-adopter, returns to work. This allows the father (or mother, in the case of same-sex partnership or adoption where their partner takes the traditionally ‘maternal’ role) to spend time “caring for the child or to support the child’s mother/adopter”. You cannot, however, get both leave and pay. There are rules on how to claim, and when your leave can start. Here are some of the basic points to keep in mind:

• You must take OPL within 56 days of the child’s birth, or the placement for adoption.
• OPL is only available to employees, and you must’ve been continuously employed for no less than 26 weeks before the 14th week before the expected week of childbirth (EWC). In adoption cases, you must’ve been employed no less than 26 weeks ending with the week in which the child’s adopter is notified that they’ve been matched with a child.
• You may take OPL any time between the child’s birth and its 56th week.
• You must either be the child’s father, or the spouse/civil partner of the child’s mother/adopter.
• You must also have some responsibility for the child’s upbringing, either as a biological father or as a part of a family relationship with the mother/adopter.
• You must provide your employer with written notice of your intent to take OPL no less than the 15th week prior to the EWC.

Additional Paternity Leave

• Minimum statutory entitlement from your employer for APL is for one period of leave, taken in consecutive weeks, lasting minimum two weeks and maximum 26.
• APL must be taken between 20 weeks after and 12 months after childbirth/adoption placement, and depends upon your spouse or partner having returned to work from their maternity/adoption leave. To take APL you must, as an employee, satisfy the same criteria as for OPL.
• In addition to OPL, for APL the mother/adopter must have been entitled to maternity leave, statutory maternity pay, maternity allowance or adoption leave, and have returned to work with two weeks of their leave time remaining.
• You must give at least 8 weeks’ notice for APL requests.

Statutory Paternity Pay (OSPP and ASPP)

• An employee is entitled to Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay if they match the criteria for OPL and have received normal weekly earnings for the 8weeks ending the 15th week before the EWC (expected week of childbirth), and these earnings must be no less than the lower earnings limit applicable at the time. These earnings are calculated on a weekly average of the employee’s https://www.montauk-monster.com/pharmacy/levitra gross earnings from the employer.
• You should give at least 28 days’ notice to your employer from the date on which you want to receive OSPP.
• OSPP is payable for 1-2 consecutive weeks and is paid at whichever is less out of the government’s rate (£136.78 from 7th April 2013) or 90% of the employee’s usual weekly salary.
• Additional Statutory Paternity Pay (ASPP) will depend on the number of unused weeks of maternity pay/adoption pay left when the mother/adopter returns to work. The mother/adopter must have returned to work with at least two weeks of maternity/adoption pay benefits remaining.
• ASPP is paid at whichever is less out of the government’s rate (£136.78) or 90% of the employee’s weekly earnings, and will be payable until the end of the mother/adopter’s maternity pay, or the date of the child’s first birthday, whichever comes sooner.

Returning:

You have THE RIGHT to return to work after OPL and APL, just as you would after Ordinary Maternity or Ordinary Adoption Leave, as well as if you’ve taken four weeks, or less, of Parental Leave. If you take more than four weeks of Parental Leave (or additional maternity/additional adoption leave), you have the right to your job or a similar one, where it’s impossible for you to have your old one back. To be a ‘similar’ job, it has to offer the same or better terms and conditions – you cannot be demoted or downgraded. If you refuse this ‘similar’ job, and you are seen to be unreasonable in this choice, your employer can choose to take this as your resignation.

Redundancy:

You have EQUAL redundancy rights as your colleagues when you are on paternity or parental leave. You also have the right to be offered any suitable alternative job if you’re selected for redundancy, even if there are employees better suited to the role). The only way you can be made redundant is if the employer can clearly justify making this step, for example if a part of the business closes, and everyone in this section is made redundant.

Keeping in Touch Days:

You are entitled to KIT days during Additional Paternity Leave, just as in maternity or adoption leave, though these days are optional, and both employer and employee need to agree to them. The type of work and the pay need to be agreed before you come into work. Some employees can work up to 10 paid KIT days during their leave.

Your Rights:

Your employee rights shouldn’t be affected when you take paternity, maternity, adoption or parental leave (though surrogacy is still a complicated field).

The terms and conditions of your employment are protected – you are entitled to any pay rises or improved terms and conditions given out during your leave, and you can continue to build your holiday entitlement whilst on leave, to use before or afterwards. Pension contributions, however, usually stop if you take any unpaid leave like maternity or parental leave (unless your contract says otherwise).

The Future:

A system of statutory parental rights has been suggested by the government which should come into play in 2015, allowing parents to share the paid leave that is currently only applicable to mothers. Once introduced, OPL will remain, but APL will be abolished.

Author: Phoebe Ryan, content and online PR executive writing with Pannone Solicitors.