paternity leave will DH qualify still...??

[cyphercat]

he is a peripatetic music teacher at a private school and people at the school have known that he's expecting baby for quite a long time. It's supposed to be due in 4 weeks time and they have just sent him a school policy about how to claim for a paternity leave. It says this:

How and when to claim

To claim Statutory Paternity Pay you must tell your employer when you intend to take leave by the 15th week before your baby is due, or within seven days of your wife, partner or civil partner being told by the adoption agency that they've been matched with a child.

Obviously, we didn't know that we had to claim 15 weeks before the due date!! Does this mean he won't have paternity leave at all or he can still claim for it and have two weeks off...???

I found this on the direct gov website

What happens if you don't give the proper notice for statutory leave or pay?

If you can't give the full notice period to your employer for a valid reason (eg if the baby arrives early or the adoption agency gives insufficient notice), you should still give as much notice as possible. You may still receive leave and pay if you meet the other conditions or would have if your baby had not been born early. If there is no valid reason (eg you simply forgot) you will lose your entitlement.

It was on this page.

I thought it was generally known that you had to do something by 15 weeks before the baby is due - DH changed jobs at the "wrong" time before both DS and DD so didn't get statutory paternity pay. He did get leave both times though, although only a week as he works for small organisations who were able to be flexible. Not sure if and how much he got paid though.

Hopefully he will still qualify.