THE WOMEN IN

BUSINESS TOOLKIT:

Paternity Leave and Pay

THE WOMEN IN BUSINESS TOOLKIT THE WOMEN IN BUSINESS TOOLKIT

All of the Chapters so the Women in Business Toolkit can be found online on

the Women in Business Toolkit section of the Birmingham Chamber of

Commerce Website along with an online version of this document.

Click the links below or see www.Birmingham-Chamber.com/WIBToolkit

for more information.

Having a family and caring for

dependents Promoting Best Practice

Making the Case

Maternity Leave and Pay

Paternity Leave and Pay

Adoption Leave and Pay

Shared Parental Leave and Pay

The Right to Request Flexible

Working

Statutory Parental Leave

Discrimination, Informal and

Formal Grievances and The

Equality Act (2010)

Taking a Case to Employment

Tribunal

Mentoring and Sponsorship

Unconscious Bias Training

Transparency in Pay and

Promotions

Promoting Diversity Through

Recruitment

Flexible Working

Diversity Policies and Strategies

Making the Case: How to

Construct a Business Case and

Useful Statistics

Your Rights in the Workplace

This handy little guide offers you some concise and, we hope, highly

practical and useful information on the Rights to Paternity Leave and Pay. It

also includes an introduction to Occupational Paternity Pay.

If you like the sound of Occupational Paternity Pay check out the ‘Making

the Case’ chapter of the Women in Business Toolkit for lots of helpful

advice and statistics to help you make the case to your employer. Click on

the link on the left-hand page or go to the Women in Business Section of

the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce website: www.Birmingham-

Chamber.com/WIBToolkit for more information.

Connecting you to opportunity...

This guide, brought to you by the Greater Birmingham Chambers of

Commerce, is part of the Women in Business Toolkit. This toolkit aims to

help inform and empower women and encourage best practice in

businesses, helping make the UK a forward thinking, attractive place to

work.

Whilst useful and informative, it does not aim to provide encyclopaedic

knowledge or in-depth legal advice about the topics in question, merely an

introductory account. If you have any questions about any of the topics

covered in this document please do speak to your HR department/the

member of staff responsible for this area or seek professional advice

The Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce features some of the

UK’s oldest and largest Chambers. It has nearly 3,000 member companies

that employ over 200,000 plus affiliate organisations representing 15,000

people. It offers extensive services to industry and commerce, having

served the interests of business for nearly three centuries, promoting trade

locally, nationally and internationally.

INTRODUCTION:

Did you know?

Your employment rights are protected

while you are on paternity leave.

This includes your rights to:

pay rises accrue holiday

employers offer

Occupational Paternity

Pay in the UK

The average

length of Ordinary

Paternity Leave

taken in the UK

DAYS

Of fathers take some time off after the birth of their child.

Of those:

Took paternity leave

Around the world...

Around 50 countries

currently offer paternity

leave.

Norway was the first

country in the world to

introduce Paternity Leave

Sweden has the most

generous paternity

leave allowance in the

world Fathers can share

up to 480 days leave with

their partner.

If your partner is having a baby you could be entitled to Paternity Leave.

Paternity Leave arrangements are quite different to Maternity Leave.

There are two kinds of Paternity Leave:

Ordinary Paternity Leave

Additional Paternity Leave

Ordinary Paternity Leave (OPL) consists of one or two weeks paid

leave from work. It can only be taken after the baby is born and must be

taken within 56 days of the birth. It has to be taken as one block and can

be taken regardless of whether the mother of the child has returned to

work or not.

Additional Paternity Leave (APL) can only be taken if the mother of the

child has returned to work without taking all 52 weeks of her maternity

leave allowance. Remaining maternity leave can then be taken by the

mother’s partner/baby’s father. You can take APL anytime between the

20th week after your baby is born and the 52nd week after your baby is

born.

APL can be between 2 and 26 weeks in length, depending on the

amount of left-over maternity leave available. For instance; if the child’s

mother has taken 30 weeks leave, her partner could take up to 22 weeks

APL. However much leave is taken, APL must be taken as one, single

block.

Fathers taking either kind of Paternity Leave have the right to return to the

same job. While on APL you can use up to 10 KIT Days (Click Here or

see the www.birmingham-chamber.com/WIBToolkit for more information).

WHAT IS STATUTORY PATERNITY LEAVE?

WHAT IS STATUTORY PATERNITY PAY?

Statutory Paternity Pay is money that your employer is required to pay

you while you are on Paternity Leave.

For Ordinary Paternity Pay (OPP) you are entitled to the statutory

minimum pay. At the time of writing (November 2013) this was £136.78

per week or 90% of salary if lower. You can receive this pay for one or

two weeks, dependant on how much OPL you have decided to take.

For Additional Paternity Pay (APL) the pay you are entitled to will

depend on how much maternity pay your partner has already taken

(click here for info on Statutory Maternity Pay). If they do not take all of

their Statutory Maternity Pay you can use the remainder as Additional

Paternity Pay.

Some companies also offer additional paternity pay known as

Occupational Paternity Pay. Check your employment contract or

speak to your HR department/member of staff responsible for this area

to find out if you are entitled to it. If you are not entitled to OPP and

would like to propose that your organisation begins to offer it click here

or see the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce website for the toolkit

chapter: ‘Making the Case’ for advice and guidance on making

business case for Occupational Maternity/Paternity Pay.

If your request for OPP or APL is successful, your Paternity Pay should

automatically start when you start your paternity leave. If it does not

contact your HR department/the member of staff in charge of staff

wages. You should receive this money from your employer like your

usual pay check. Your employer can claim back up to 100% of SMP

from the Government. They cannot claim back OMP.

In order to be eligible for Ordinary Paternity Leave and Pay you must

also:

AM I ELIGIBLE?

In order to be eligible for any kind of Paternity Pay or Leave you must be

taking the time off specifically to look after a child and be either:

2. The child’s father

1. the husband or partner of the mother (or adopter)

3. the child’s adopter

1. have worked continuously for your employer for at

least 26 weeks before the 15th week before your

baby is due

2. be a formal employee

3. give the correct notice

1. the child’s mother must have qualified for

Maternity Leave or Pay or Maternity Allowance but

now formally returned to work/will have by the date

you wish to start leave.

4. still be employed by current

employer the week before leave or

pay starts

3. earn at least £107 a week

2. you must confirm the start and end dates

of the child’s mother’s maternity leave

5. confirm that the child’s mother has at

least 2 weeks of their maternity pay

remaining (APP only)

In order to be eligible for Additional Paternity Leave and Pay:

For Additional Paternity Leave and Pay your employer may ask you for

a copy of your child’s birth certificate and/or the employment details of

the mother before making a decision. If they do, you will need to provide

these documents within 28 days.

As with all of these things it is best to begin discussions with your

employer about paternity leave and pay as soon as possible and give all

notifications in writing.

AM I ELIGIBLE?

KEY DATES: ORDINARY PATERNITY

LEAVE AND PAY

15 WEEKS

You need to tell you employer at least 15 weeks before your

baby is due and when you are planning to start and finish your

Ordinary Paternity Leave.

28 DAYS

If you want to change the start or end date for your OPL you

need to give your employer at least 28 days notice.

28 DAYS

If you want to take Ordinary Paternity Pay, you need to give

your employer 28 days notice

28 DAYS

If your employer refuses your request for OPP they have 28

days to send you a document (the OSPP1 form) explaining why.

KEY DATES: ADDITIONAL PATERNITY

LEAVE AND PAY

8 WEEKS

If you intend to take Additional Paternity Leave you need to give

your employer at least 8 weeks notice. You will need to tell them

your baby’s due date and when you intend to start and finish

your leave.

6 WEEKS

If you want to make any changes to your APL you need to give

your employer at least 6 weeks notice.

28 DAYS

If your employer refuses your request for Additional Paternity

Leave and Pay they must send you a ASPP1 form explaining

why within 28 days.

JARGON BUSTER:

OCCUPATIONAL PATERNITY PAY

Any additional paternity pay offered by your employer above the statutory

minimum. Your employer cannot claim back these additional costs from

the Government.

KIT DAYS

Keeping In Touch Days are opportunities to return to the workplace for

individual days/shifts without losing your entitlement to maternity pay

and leave. You can have up to 10 KIT Days.

ORDINARY PATERNITY LEAVE (OPL)

The one or two weeks leave a baby’s father (or the mother’s partner)

can take in the first 56 days after the baby is born.

ADDITIONAL PATERNITY LEAVE (APL)

The between 2 and 26 weeks leave a baby’s father (or the mother’s

partner) can take between the 20th and 52nd week after the baby is

born, provided the mother has returned to work and has left over

Maternity Leave.

ADDITIONAL PATERNITY PAY (APP)

The pay received by an employee on Additional Paternity Pay. It is paid

at the statutory minimum rate . The number of weeks it is paid for is

dependant on the number of weeks of Maternity Pay the mother of the

child has left over on returning to work.

EXPECTED WEEK OF CONFINEMENT

Also known as the Expected Week of Childbirth, this term just means the

week in which your baby is due to be born.

ASPP1 FORM

The form your employer has to give you if they reject your request for

Additional Paternity Pay. In it they should explain their reasons for

rejecting your request.

ORDINARY PATERNTIY PAY (OPP)

The legal minimum that an employer has to pay to an employee on

Ordinary Paternity Leave. Your employer can claim back between

92% and 100% these additional costs from the Government.

STATUTORY PATERNITY PAY

The legal minimum that your employer has to pay you while you are on

paternity leave. Your employer can claim back between 92% and 100%

(dependant on company size) of this from the Government, by deducting

it from National Insurance contributions.

OSPP1 FORM

The form your employer has to give you if they reject your request for

Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay. In it they should explain their reasons

for rejecting your request.

The UK Government’s Website:

https://www.gov.uk/paternity-pay-leave

The paternity leave and pay section of the UK government’s website

provides more useful, introductory information on adoption leave and

pay and signposting for further information. It will also be worth

searching ‘paternity leave’ on the gov.uk search engine for more

helpful advice.

Gov.UK Additional Paternity Leave and Pay Employer Guide:

https://www.gov.uk/employers-additional-paternity-pay-leave

This link will direct you to the gov.uk employers guide to adoption pay

and leave. If your employer is unfamiliar with adoption leave and pay

they may find this guide useful.

The Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Website:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/payerti/employee/statutory-pay/index.htm

This link will take you to the maternity, paternity, adoption and sickness

section of the HMRC website. If your employer is unfamiliar with the ins

and outs of paternity pay they may find this useful.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission Website (EHRC):

http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/advice-and-guidance/guidance-for

-employers/working-hours-flexible-working-and-time-off/making-a-

decision-relating-to-time-off/maternity-paternity-adoption-and-parental-

leave/

The maternity, paternity, adoption and parental leave section of the

EHRC website offers an array of advice and guidance on the Rights of

parents.

USEFUL LINKS:

DWP (2005) Maternity and

Paternity Rights and Benefits

[Accessed 06 August 2013]

Did you know?

Your employment rights are protected

while you are on paternity leave.

This includes your rights to:

pay rises accrue holiday

employers offer

Occupational Paternity

Pay in the UK

The average

length of Ordinary

Paternity Leave

taken in the UK

DAYS

Of fathers take some time off after the birth of their child.

Of those:

Took paternity leave

Around the world...

Around 50 countries

currently offer paternity

leave.

Norway was the first

country in the world to

introduce Paternity Leave

Sweden has the most

generous paternity

leave allowance in the

world Fathers can share

up to 480 days leave with

their partner.

DWP (2012) Maternity and Paternity Rights and Women Returners

Survey 2009/10 [Accessed 31st July 2013]

Gov.UK (2013) Paternity Leave and

Pay [Online] [Accessed 24 July 2013]

Working Families, (2011) Survey on Additional Paternity Leave

and Pay

CoburgBanks.co.uk (2013) Paternity

Leave: UK vs. Rest of the World

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stays as up to date and relevant as possible. To do this we

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THE WOMEN IN

BUSINESS TOOLKIT:

WE NEED YOU

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