On 8 March 2024 legislation came into force that makes changes to Statutory Paternity Leave. The Paternity Leave Amendment Regulations 2024 will apply to those whose child will be born or placed after 6 April 2024.
The previous position was that the two available weeks of paternity leave needed to be taken at the same time. The new Regulations allow this leave to be split into two blocks of one week. This leave can be taken at any time before the child turns one. This is also a departure from the previous position that stated that leave must be taken in the first eight weeks.
In terms of notification, the previous position mirrored that of the maternity leave rules. In order to be eligible, the employee planning on taking paternity leave needed to inform their employer of their intention to do so, 15 weeks before the expected week of childbirth. This has now been changed to 28 days before the expected week of childbirth.
The government described these changes as increasing flexibility which would encourage employees to take their full entitlement whilst not adding extra burdens to employers.
There are others that would dispute the efficacy of the new Regulations. The UK has the least generous paternity pay provisions in the EU and these Regulations do not change the overall entitlement to paternity leave or pay. The campaign group ‘Pregnant then Screwed’ conducted a survey in which it found that around three quarters of respondents did not use their full entitlement to paternity leave because they were not in a position financially to do so. In this regard the new Regulations have not changed the position.
Some employers choose to enhance paternity pay or leave. Typically, this is by offering full pay for the two weeks of available leave. There are others who go much further. Aviva offers equal parental leave. This means that both parents are able to take one year off with six months at full pay. An internal survey conducted by Aviva showed that more than three quarters of men who had taken paternity leave had been off for at least five months which shows that there is a demand for these enhanced provisions.
The same survey conducted by ‘Pregnant then Screwed’ found that only a third of respondents worked for an employer that provided such enhancements.
For employers it is important that there is an awareness of the new Regulations and how the entitlement to split periods of leave will affect staffing. Employers should also ensure policies are updated to comply with the new Regulations.
If you have any questions on any of the issues raised in the above article, please contact Natalia Milne.