PATERNITY PAY

[mum2oliver]

Will my partner be entitled to paternity pay?
How does it work?

It depends on how long he's been with his current employer and what his employer offers in terms of paternity leave. If he meets the criteria (will find a link in a minute!) then he is entitled to 2 weeks leave at statutory paternity pay which is just over £100 a week. His employer may be lovely and generous and give him one or both weeks at full pay but that's not common IME.

Will find that link for you.

This is the basic explanation:

Paternity Leave & Pay

The right to paid paternity leave under the Employment Act 2002 is in addition to the 13 unpaid weeks' parental leave entitlement. The entitlement is two weeks paid leave. The leave is paid at the same rate as Statutory Maternity Pay, £108.85 per week (or 90% of the employees average weekly earnings if this is less). An employer is entitled to reclaim Paternity Pay from the government.

Leave can be taken in a single block of either one week or two weeks. It can be taken after the birth of a child or the placement of a child for adoption. The leave must be taken within 56 days of the expected week of childbirth or the actual birth, (if this is earlier).

Statutory Paternity Pay and Leave is available to employees whether they are the biological father or the mother's partner or husband, but not the biological father.

Entitlement begins if the baby is born or placed for adoption on or after 6th April 2003.

Paternity Leave is available to an employee who has completed a period of at least 26 weeks qualifying service with the same employer, by the 14th week before the child is expected to be born (or is matched in the case of adoption). Additional conditions are that the mother must have given appropriate notification and qualifies for Statutory Maternity Leave.

An employee is entitled to the same job following paternity leave and will be protected from unfair dismissal related to paternity leave.

Employers can reclaim Statutory Paternity Pay in the same way as for Statutory Maternity Pay. If an employer fails to pay Statutory Paternity Pay, the Inland Revenue will become responsible for the payment. This is also the case if the employer becomes insolvent.

Basically, if he's worked for the same employer for more than the first 6 months of your pregnancy then you should get it!

My due date is 16.03.2007.He started his job at the beginning of june.His employers are saying he is entitled to nothing.They arent great to work for so would be good to find out for defo that he is.
Thanku so much for your time and effort.

I think its quite close.The 1st day of my period was 9th June and think he started hob at very end of May.MMM need to check.

For babies due after 1st Aptil 2007 new laws also:

"Give employed fathers a new right to up to 26 weeks Additional Paternity Leave some of which could be paid, if the mother returns to work. This will be introduced alongside the extension of maternity pay to 12 months."

I will be very interested to see how many fathers take up that right. They only get it if the mother goes back to work. I wonder how many men and women will be negotiating between each other as they both want to stay home.

By the way if your baby is 2 weeks late (not impossible) then he gets this new right I think. It's on the DTI web site.

what is 14 weeks before your due date?
must be around end of december.
he'll have done 26 weeks with them by then so you should be fine.

do you qualify for maternity leave?

link for you
this

you could ask your midwife to put 1 April on your MATB1 form - I know someone whose MW did this and hence she'll be entitled to more maternity pay

And links to those new rights from next April - www.dti.gov.uk/employment/employment-legislation/workandfamiliesact/index.html (don't know how to do proper links, sorry)

isn't that fraud?

So if a man hasnt worked with the same employer for the mentioned period,are they not entitled to any pay at all?
Even if the man has worked their whole life and paid national insurance for all of it they are not entitled to spp?

Im a childminder so I will hopefully get smp.

yep if they haven't worked for the same place for required period they don't get anything

I timed my preg wrong and hence my DH misses out on SPP by 2 weeks

I forgot to add if you are self employed as a CM then you'll get MA instead of SMP

..which was alos the case with maternity leave ... for my first 3 babies I had not worked long enough at the employers to be entitled to any (except the 6 weeks 90% pay I think) and then with the twins I worked for myself, so in 22 years I've never had maternity leave rights. I think we changed the requirement for qualifying periods for women to whatever it now is (may be none) but looks like the same kind of thing for paternity pay.