Overview
If you’re having a baby or adopting (congratulations!), time off from work is important for partners and fathers. This section is for you if you’re the father of the child, partner of the mother, the child’s adopter, or the intended parent in a surrogacy.
FYI - your leave entitlement doesn’t change if you have more than one child e.g. twins (sorry!)
Taking paternity leave
When to tell us
To claim statutory leave and pay, you need to tell us the details requested below at least 15 weeks before the EWC. However, the sooner you can tell us that you’re taking leave the better, so we can start planning for your absence (we don’t need all the details right away).
What to tell us
After your partner or surrogate gets a MAT B1 form from the doctor (usually at an antenatal appointment after the 20-week scan) you can tell us the EWC, and the date you think that you want your paternity leave to start.
When your leave can start
Your leave can start from the day the baby is born, or the day your child is placed with you for adoption. Your leave has to be taken within 56 days after the birth or placement (or the due date if the baby is born early).
When your leave can end
Unless you tell us otherwise, we’ll assume that you’re taking the full 2 weeks of leave. If you already know that you only want to take 1 week of leave, you can let us know this.
Appointments
You can take unpaid time off work to go to up to 2 antenatal appointments, for up to 6.5 hours per appointment.
Pay during paternity leave
You’re entitled to statutory paternity pay (SPP) during your paternity leave, if you’re a GP or non-GP, and you meet the eligibility requirements below.
More information can be found on the Gov.uk website.
Coming back to work
If you’re thinking about changing your hours when you come back, you can find out more about it on our Flexible Working page. You might also want to consider taking Shared parental leave if that’s better for you and your partner.