Parents of children due on or after 3 April 2011 will be able to take advantage of new legislation announced recently by the Government. The rights also apply to parents of adopted children matched on or after 3 April 2011.
Under the new rights, mothers will be able to transfer the last six months of their maternity leave to the father if she decides to return to work before the end of her leave. As with current paternity leave (which only lasts for two weeks), additional paternity leave extends to partners and civil partners of mothers.
The Government says that the idea behind the new regulations is to enable parents to share a period of paid leave between them, giving families greater flexibility in how they choose to look after their children. In essence, the regulations state that:
• Fathers who have been continuously employed for at least 26 weeks will be entitled to up to six months extra leave, which can be taken once the mother has returned to work
• Some of the leave may be paid if taken during the mother’s 39 week maternity pay period at the same rate as Statutory Maternity Pay
• Parents will be required to “self certify” by providing details of their eligibility to their employer. Employers and HMRC will both be able to carry out further checks of entitlement if necessary
• The leave can start from 20 weeks after the baby’s birth (or adoption) and must end 12 months after the child is born (or adopted)
• The minimum period of leave is 2 consecutive weeks and a maximum of 26 consecutive weeks
• In order to be entitled to take the leave strict notice provisions will apply
The regulations are due to come into force on 6 April 2010, but will only apply to parents of children due or matched on or after 3 April 2011.
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