Topic of the week: Additional paternity leave and pay case study

In this week's topic of the week article, Kath Sadler-Smith of Osborne Clarke continues a series of articles on additional paternity leave and pay with a case study that looks at a situation in which an employee qualifies for the new right to take additional paternity leave and additional statutory paternity pay. 

Employees must meet eligibility criteria and comply with notification requirements to be able to take additional paternity leave and pay. 

• Topic of the week: Additional paternity leave and pay case study For a father to qualify for additional paternity leave and pay the baby's mother must return to work before taking her full entitlement to maternity leave and statutory maternity pay. 

Previous articles in this topic of the week series

Additional paternity leave and pay: overview An overview of the new right to additional paternity leave and pay. 

More from XpertHR on additional paternity leave and pay and related topics

XpertHR subscribers have access to a wealth of material on additional paternity leave and pay and related issues - ranging from policies and documents on additional paternity leave and FAQs on additional statutory paternity pay. We pick out just some of the information available on the subject. 

Additional paternity leave and pay

Employees who meet the eligibility requirements will be able to take additional paternity leave and pay, provided that the mother or main adopter returns to work before exhausting his or her full entitlement to leave and pay. The Paternity and adoption section of the XpertHR employment law manual explains the law relating to both ordinary and additional paternity leave while the Pay for employees not at work section explains the additional statutory paternity pay provisions. 

There are a number of policies and documents on paternity rights in the XpertHR policies and documents section, including documents that relate to the new additional paternity leave and pay rights, for example a:

• Company paternity leave policy (employees whose child has an expected week of birth beginning on or after 3 April 2011)
• Paternity leave contract clause (employees whose child has an expected week of birth beginning on or after 3 April 2011)
• Letter responding to an employee who has notified an intention to take ordinary paternity leave (employees whose child has an expected week of birth beginning on or after 3 April 2011)

as well as a Line manager briefing on paternity rights. 

The XpertHR FAQs section includes questions and answers on additional paternity leave and pay, for example:

• Which employees will be able to benefit from the new right to additional paternity leave?
• Is there a specific time period when additional paternity leave can be taken?
• Can an employer ask an employee for proof that he or she qualifies for additional paternity leave?
• Are employees entitled to be paid during additional paternity leave?
• For how many weeks may an employee be paid additional statutory paternity pay?
• Are the 10 keeping-in-touch days during maternity, adoption and additional paternity leave pro-rated for part-time employees?

The level of take-up of the right to additional paternity leave remains to be seen. The 2010 IRS survey on paternity and adoption leave found that, although half the organisations in the survey enhance paternity leave beyond the statutory minimum, fathers and partners of new mothers are still reluctant to use it, especially if the enhanced wage falls short of full pay. 

Maternity and rights

Employees on maternity leave may transfer some of their leave to the father of the baby or their spouse or partner. The law relating to maternity leave is complex, with a number of protections being afforded to employees who are pregnant or on maternity leave. The Pregnancy and maternity rights section of the XpertHR employment law manual explains the law in this difficult and ever-developing area and there is also guidance on How to deal with pregnancy and maternity rights in the XpertHR "how to" section. 

Adoption rights

Adopters who are notified of a match for adoption on or after 3 April 2011 may also take additional paternity leave and pay. According to a recent survey by XpertHR's benchmarking service over one-fifth of employers have employees who have taken adoption leave over the past two years. 

XpertHR subscribers that have employees who wish to take adoption leave can review the rights of affected employees in the Paternity and adoption section of the XpertHR employment law manual. There are also a number of polices and documents on adoption rights.