Time off for Ante Natal for fathers

[typhoonsmum]

Hi,

Am 6+4 weeks and have my booking scan in a week. Unfortunately DP can't get time off to come with me.
Was speaking to a friend this morning (who is 30 weeks with twins and still working) and she says that the powers that be( the goverment or something) are trying to arrange it that men also get paid time off work to go to ante natal scans.
This is the first I heard of it. Wondering if anyone else has heard the same thing. She also said from April you can get nine months paid maternity leave. Is this true or has she worked too many night shifts. (going doo lally)

not heard about leave for dh's/dp's BUT as dh is self employed its no use to us iykwim...BUT I am sure the maternity paid time is increasing but as a sahm and expecting my 2nd I am not in the circles to know for definate....

Someone should be along soon to advise you. x

I haven't heard anything about paid time off for men to attend antenatal appointments with their partners. I'm lucky in that DH's boss (who is female) just tells him to take whatever time he needs to accompany me to appointments. He's been to both the scans and to the initial booking-in appointment with the midwife, and is coming to the antenatal classes with me even though they are during the day (our hospital doesn't do evening ones). But he's not entitled to the time; his boss is just being generous.

The second of your questions is definitely true. If your baby is born on or after 6 April 2007 you will be entitled to 9 months' statutory maternity pay instead of the current 6 months.

I haven't heard about DH being entitled to time off for antenatal scans. My DHs company are very flexible so he gets to come along to all my scans/appointments as long as he makes the time up sometime that week.

As for the increase to maternity pay - it increases from 6 months to 9 months for babies DUE on or after 01 April 2007.