Enhancements to paternity leave rights
3 July 2026
The right to paternity leave is one of a number of existing employment rights that were enhanced under the Employment Rights Act 2025. The changes include the removal of the minimum service requirement and the introduction of more flexibility as to when employees can take this time off if they are making use of other family-friendly rights.
Despite its slightly misleading name, paternity leave is also available to the partner of a mother or main adopter, regardless of their gender, and the right applies when a child is born or adopted.
The recent changes to the law mean it is advisable to review and update company policies and procedures regarding entitlement to paternity leave, when it is paid, when it can be taken, notice requirements, and the protections given to employees exercising the right.
What is paternity leave?
Paternity leave is the right to one or two weeks off work to care for the child or to support its mother or, where a child is being adopted by a couple, to support the person nominated as the ‘main adopter’ for the purposes of employment rights.
The total entitlement is two weeks. The employee can choose to take the leave as a block of either one or two weeks or as two non-consecutive weeks. The time off must be taken within 52 weeks of the child’s birth or the date they come to live with the adopting parents (which is known as the date of placement for adoption).
Who is entitled?
The right applies to an employee who has, or expects to have, responsibility for the upbringing of the child alongside the mother or main adopter and is:
the child’s biological father; or
the spouse, civil partner or partner of the mother; or
the spouse, civil partner or partner of the main adopter.
‘Partner’ means a person who lives with the mother and child in an enduring family relationship, but is not their relative (i.e. parent, sibling, grandparent or an aunt or uncle). The employee must also comply with the appropriate notice requirements.
How does this work for a same-sex couple?
Where a couple is adopting a child, the rules apply in exactly the same way, regardless of the sex/gender of each partner.
However, if the child is being born and the employee is the male partner or spouse of the biological father, he will not be entitled to paternity leave. This is because (with reference to the eligibility rule above) even if the employee expects to have responsibility for the child’s upbringing, he is neither the child’s biological father nor the spouse, civil partner or partner of the mother.
Length of employment
Previously, the right to take paternity leave was conditional on 26 weeks’ continuous service. From April 2026, this requirement was removed. Specifically, the minimum service requirement no longer applies where:
the baby’s expected week of birth is on or after 5 April 2026; or
the baby is born or placed for adoption on or after 6 April 2026.
However, the minimum service requirement still applies to statutory paternity pay – see below.
Is paternity leave paid or unpaid?
The right to statutory paternity pay only comes into effect when the employee meets the following conditions:
has 26 weeks’ service with the employer by the relevant date as specified in the rules, which varies between birth and adoption cases (this requirement is unchanged by the April 2026 changes to the entitlement to take paternity leave);
remains in employment with the same employer from the relevant date as specified in the rules until the day the child is born or placed for adoption; and
earns at least the lower earnings limit (£125 per week for 2025/26 and £129 per week for 2026/27).
In birth cases, the relevant date is the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth. In adoption cases, it is the end of the week in which the adopter is notified of being matched with the child for the purposes of adoption. The statutory rate of paternity pay from 5 April 2026 is £194.32 per week or 90% of the employee’s weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
When does an employee have to tell us?
Employees must notify their employer of their entitlement to take paternity leave by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth.
When adopting a child, the employee must inform their employer of their entitlement within seven days of the main adopter being told by an approved adoption agency that a child has been matched with them for adoption. We can advise you on the information they must provide and the additional notice requirements before each period of paternity leave. The rules vary when the child is being adopted from overseas.
What other rights do employees have when taking paternity leave?
In keeping with the exercise of other family-friendly rights, employees:
have no right to their usual pay during paternity leave, but remain entitled to all other benefits under their contract of employment;
remain subject to their terms and conditions of employment during paternity leave;
have the right to return to the same job after taking paternity leave; but this may not apply if they append paternity leave to another period of family leave, such as neonatal care leave; and
are protected from being subjected to a detriment or from being dismissed or selected for redundancy for having taken paternity leave (or for having tried to take paternity leave).
Taking shared parental leave
Previously, if an employee had taken shared parental leave, they could not also take paternity leave. This restriction was removed on 6 April 2026.
How we can help
We can ensure that your policies on all forms of statutory family leave are up to date and comply with recent changes in the law, and we can guide you through the rules if any queries or problems come up.
For further information, please contact the team at Synchrony Law.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.