On 7 March 2024, the UK Parliament approved the Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 and the latest in the Government’s long-trailed reforms to family leave.
These regulations will come into force on 8 March 2024 and will significantly change the legal arrangements for statutory paternity leave.
Current system
Currently paternity leave can be taken by the father, spouse or partner. The right is restricted to employees with at least 26 weeks continuous employment and the employee must give written notice of their intention to take paternity leave no later than the 15th week prior to the child’s expected week of birth. Employers can, at their discretion, ask the relevant employee to sign a declaration confirming their entitlement to take the paternity leave and that they will use the period of paternity leave for the intended purposes of caring for the child, or supporting their partner. The leave must be taken within eight weeks of the child’s birth or adoption and must be taken as a single block of either one or two consecutive weeks. If only a week is taken, the second week is forfeited. The leave is paid at a minimum rate of £172.48 per week although increasing numbers of employers now offer full pay.
Incoming changes
Once in force the new system will apply to paternity leave taken for births after 6 April 2024, and for adoptions expected from 6 April 2024. The key changes are that:
- The leave can be taken at any time within a year of birth or placement for adoption;
- The leave can still be taken as a single block, but now also as two separate one-week blocks;
- An employee will only be required to give 28 days notice before each period of leave that they intend to take although employees will still be obliged to notify their employer that they are entitled to take paternity leave 15 weeks prior to birth. The rules will remain unchanged for domestic adoption cases (seven days after the adopter received notice of having been matched with a child) and there are specific rules around adoption from overseas;
- The declaration of entitlement and confirmation of intended purpose of the leave will now be mandatory for employees and no longer at the employer’s discretion; and
- A notice of intention to take a period of paternity leave can be varied by the employee if at least 28 days’ notice is given.
It should also be noted that the weekly statutory payment is expected to increase to £184.03 from April.
What this means for employers
The most significant implication of these changes for employers will be the fact that paternity leave can be taken at any time within the first year of birth and only 28 days notice requires to be given of the dates of leave. This may increase the take-up of paternity leave and employers are likely to have to accommodate paternity leave more often.
Employers will need to update their Paternity Leave Policy to reflect the new law. Please do not hesitate to contact Burness Paull for assistance.
