Posted: Tuesday 9 March 2010
Additional Paternity Leave Regulations Take Shape
Four of the six final draft regulations on additional paternity leave and pay have now been laid before Parliament. The draft Additional Paternity Leave (Adoptions from Overseas) Regulations 2010 and the draft Additional Statutory Paternity Pay (Adoptions from Overseas) Regulations 2010 now state that they are now due to come into force on 9 April 2010, three days later than originally planned.
These Regulations will introduce a new entitlement for employees who are fathers or partners of mothers or adopters to take additional paternity leave in the first year of their child’s life or the first year after the child’s placement for adoption. The person seeking to claim must satisfy several requirements such as continuous employment, having a qualifying relationship with the mother or adopter as well procedural requirements such as giving appropriate notice to the claimant’s employer.
The Regulations are expected to apply to those with children born after 3 April 2011 and will confer up to an additional 26 weeks for the purpose of caring for a child under one, or (for an adopted child) in the first year after being placed for adoption. Leave can only be taken once the mother has returned to work and the child is over 20 weeks old, or the child has been with its adoptive parents for 20 weeks.
Guidance will be published by the Government before 2011 to ensure that employers and employees are aware of the changes.
