New regulations to make paternity leave more flexible

The Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 came into effect on March 8, 2024. This changes the right to paternity leave for employees who are expecting babies born or placed for adoption on or after April 6, 2024.

Previous legislation allowed employers to be quite rigid about when the leave was granted, and it could be denied or postponed. An eligible partner or father could only take paternity leave in one block, i.e. one or two consecutive weeks of paid paternity leave, which had to be taken during the first 56 days after birth. If an employee took only one week, he lost the right to the second week. To qualify for paternity leave, the employee had to give notice before the 15the week before the baby’s birth (the qualifying week) and at least 26 weeks of continuous employment during the qualifying week.

The new regulations offer parents more flexibility. They offer fathers and partners the opportunity to claim paternity leave at any time during the first year after the birth of the child. The period for reporting to the employer per leave period will also be reduced from 14 weeks to four weeks before the start of each consecutive leave.

To summarize the changes (as of April 6, 2024):

1. Fathers and partners can take the leave in two non-consecutive blocks of one week or two consecutive weeks.
2. Leave can be taken at any time during the first year after birth or placement for adoption.
3. The notice period to the employer is shortened per leave period; Employees only need to give four weeks’ notice of their intention to take paternity leave.
4. If notice has been given, the father or partner can give notice to change these dates, provided they give four weeks’ notice of any change.
5. The notice period for domestic adoption is now seven days after receipt of notification of the matching with a child.

The change in the notice period for taking leave means that companies will have to be more flexible. Unlike the old parental leave, a request to take paternity leave cannot be refused or postponed.

The new law is not retroactive, so an employee who became a parent before April cannot now claim to be granted additional leave under the new law. However, employers are of course still entitled to go further than the law and offer additional benefits.

Businesses will need to review their local policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the new rules. There have been so many changes, and there will be more to come. It is advisable to anticipate and plan new legislation.

Lydia Wawiye is a litigator at Parfitt Cresswell