Paternity leave and pay policy template
This model policy provides information about Statutory Paternity Leave and pay. Paternity Leave is the time an employee can take off to support their partner.
5 mins
What is a Paternity leave and pay policy?
The purpose of this Paternity leave and pay policy template is to provide you with a flexible and customisable document to serve as a robust and effective starting point for you.
By using our Paternity leave and pay policy template, you can streamline your process, maintain consistency and accuracy, and save time, and it can be easily adapted to fit your specific scenario.
During onboarding / after changes / planned refresher
Internally issued to appropriate recipients in your Company
Great Britain & NI (United Kingdom), Worldwide
Paternity leave and pay
Overview
This policy sets out information about Statutory Paternity Leave and pay. Paternity Leave is the time an employee can take off to support their partner.
Scope
This policy is applicable to all employees of [company name].
General principles
Statutory Paternity Leave is a maximum of two weeks time off because your partner's having a baby, adopting a child or having a baby through a surrogacy arrangement. It can be taken as a single week or two consecutive weeks. It cannot be taken as odd days or as two separate weeks.
You can choose to take either 1 or 2 weeks. You get the same amount of leave if your partner has a multiple birth (such as twins).
You must take your leave in one go.
Eligibility
To be eligible you must:
- be employed up to the date of birth
- give the correct notice
- have been continuously employed for at least 26 weeks up to any day in the 'qualifying week'. The 'qualifying week' is the 15th week before the baby is due. This is different if you adopt.
Giving notice
At least 15 weeks before the baby is due, you must tell [your line manager | HR]:
- the due date
- when you want your leave to start, for example the day of the birth or the week after the birth
- if you want 1 or 2 weeks leave
Start and end dates
Leave cannot start before the birth.
It must end within 56 days of the birth (or due date if the baby is early).
You must give [your line manager | HR] 28 days notice if you want to change your start date.
Pay and benefits
Statutory Paternity Pay is paid at a fixed rate per week (determined in legislation) or 90% of average earnings if that is less. It is paid less tax and National Insurance contributions in the normal way.
During Statutory Paternity Leave, you are entitled to all of your normal contractual terms and conditions as if you were not absent, apart from basic wages and salary. You have the right to return to exactly the same job, on the same terms and conditions after Statutory Paternity Leave.
This policy [does not] form[s] part of your terms and conditions of employment.
Version: [1.0]
Issue date: [date]
Author: [name, job title]
- It's easily editable and implementable, saving you time and money
- It's designed by CIPD accedited Chartered HR practitioners with operational experience in this area
- You will maintain compliance with ACAS guidelines, legislation, and industry best practices
- Email notifications for any updates made to this template or its accompanying materials
- 12 months of unrestricted access without any additional costs (any update in that period is free to you)
- A 25% discount on all library, toolkit, and template purchases/renewals
