Additional paternity leave regulations will not be scrapped

The Government has confirmed that the additional paternity leave Regulations implemented earlier this year by the Labour Government will remain in force.

Additional paternity leave will affect parents of children due on or after 3 April 2011 and will give employed fathers the right to take up to six months’ extra leave when the mother returns to work.

Personnel Today reported in August that the Department for Business was considering whether or not the Regulations were the best way forward, leading to fears that they might be scrapped.

However, the Government has confirmed that the additional paternity leave Regulations will remain in force as an interim measure for encouraging shared parenting from the earliest stages of pregnancy.

Sarah Jackson, chief executive of Working Families, said: “We’re pleased that the additional paternity leave provisions will be going ahead in April 2011. Women who are pregnant now are planning with their partners for next April and employers need to prepare policies. Both will benefit from this certainty.”

The announcement was made as part of the plans to extend the right to request flexible working to parents of children aged under 18-years-old. The Government also announced the launch later this year of a consultation on extending the right to flexible working to all employees, and the design of a new system of flexible parental leave.

XpertHR FAQs on additional paternity leave Personnel Today Awards newsletter Be the first to read updates relating to the annual Personnel Today Awards, celebrating excellence in HR and L&D among employers and suppliers. Email OptOut I agree to the privacy policy. Phone This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Δ

Which employees will be able to benefit from the new right to additional paternity leave? Which employees qualify for 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? Where an employee takes ordinary or additional paternity leave followed immediately by more than four weeks’ parental leave, is he entitled to return to his original job? Are the 10 keeping-in-touch days during maternity, adoption and additional paternity leave pro-rated for part-time employees?