will my dh be entitled to paternity leave

[griffintribe]

My dh is having to look for another job and i am already pregnant. I know he wont be entitled to paid paternity leave because he wont have been in the job long enough but does anyone know if he would be allowed by law to take time off unpaid? Or will it be at the discression of the employer?
I am having a c-section and will need help for 2 weeks

You can take statutory paternity leave if you:

are an employee, with a contract of employment (most agency workers and sub contractors don't have the right to paid paternity leave) and
are the biological father of the child, or are the mother's husband or partner (including a mother's partner in a same-sex relationship) and
have been with your employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before the beginning of the week when the baby's due and
will be fully involved in the child's upbringing and are taking the time off to support the mother or care for the baby.
and this leave is paid if you:

earn at least the lower earnings limit (LEL) for National Insurance contributions.
If you earn less than the LEL, (currently £84 a week), you have the right to unpaid paternity leave if you meet the other conditions, and could get Income Support while on paternity leave.

paternity leave

That is correct, so no but there is a right to unpaid time off for family emergencies like a child being hurt at school and I suspect most employers would allow unpaid leave for a birth. My teacher husband took one day off as it's very hard for schools to accommmodate teachers away but it depends on the job what seems fair to employer and employee. I did manage to time one birth in school holiday.

One of the men I work with was in a similar poisition and asked for unpaid leave (a teacher so taking holiday not an option). He was given off the actiual day of the C section as it was classified as an emergency and so he qualified for unpaid leave on this day.

That's the trouble with teaching - so hard in some ways compared with normal jobs to get the time off and yet people think it is one of the best jobs to combine with having a family. My ex husband would get the day off so he could be with me in labour and may be the next one. Although we do have paternity leave of 2 weeks now don't we so it is better these days.

Friend is a teacher and his dd was born at the start of the Autumn term and he was allowed the 2 weeks off as long as he left it all planned etc.

Dh is a teacher and was actually allowed 3 weeks off, I gave birth the week before half term so he would have lost a week in effect but his head of service gave him an extra compassionate week (we were having a few feeding problems with ds)