When should DH start his Pat Leave?

[crazymuseummumtobe]

My DH is a secondary teacher, and works only about a 25 minute walk away. I'm going to be home for the whole of January (no sweet way you're getting me back to work after Christmas), and I'm due on 23rd.

At what point, when we know I'm in labour, should he trigger his paternity leave? We don't want to waste precious days because I've had the odd contraction, only to find that I don't really go into labour properly for another 48 hours or something!

The earliest it can start is the day of the birth. Could he use annual leave/unpaid leave if your labour is protracted

My DH didn't start his until the day DD was born, if he'd had to take time off for the actual labour I believe it would have been unpaid for him. Depends on the employer, when I was birthing partner for a friend my work let me take it as holiday

.Gov says:

• Leave cannot start before the birth.
• It must end within 56 days of the birth.

You must give your employer 28 days’ notice if you want to change your start date.

You do not have to give a precise date when you want to take leave (for example 1 February). Instead you can give a general time, such as the day of the birth or 1 week after the birth.

@dementedpixie - talking about DH's paternity leave, not my mat leave!

Thanks everyone, that's much clearer now.

I think dementedpixie realises that- surely her answers are about paternity leave? The rules wouldn’t say maternity leave must end within 56 days of the birth.

OP Demented pixie answered your question correctly.

He would have needed to advise his employer of your due date but legally paternity leave cannot start before the baby is born - say you're in labour on 23rd (and he's with you) but baby is born on 24th then paternity leave would start on 24th. It would be at the employers discretion whether or not they pay him for the 23rd or class it as unpaid leave.

@crazymuseummumtobe they are the paternity leave rules. From here:

www.gov.uk/paternity-pay-leave/leave

My DH is a secondary school teacher
He says he had to put his in in advance so as I’m due Xmas day he’s tagged the 2 weeks onto his Xmas hols .

He has a habit of not reading / looking into things properly though. He’s also changed wether he’s getting full or statutory paternity pay a number of times so I’m still not sure if we are going to be skint in January or not

@dementedpixie - Sorry, my bad.

My dhs started the day I went into hospital to be induced. Dd didn’t arrive until 5 days after that.

The day you give birth.. Dh started his the day I was induced with dd. She was born early hrs the next day. So to. Speak wasted one day.
Same will be for this one due 23rd. Jan
Altho he works a 2 min drive from hospital and 5.min from home.

I wish my ex hadn't started his paternity leave until 2 weeks after my DD had been born. She didn't seem to really wake up until then and then I was all alone with this needy baby .