Changes to two-week entitlement – employees taking paternity leave will be able to take their statutory two-week entitlement as two separate blocks of one week (if they choose to do so), rather than the current position which requires it to be taken as either two consecutive weeks, or just one single week in total.
When leave can be taken – paternity leave will be able to be taken any time during the 52 weeks after the birth. Currently, paternity leave has to be taken in the 56 days following birth.
Notice – employees will only need to give you 28 days’ notice that they intend to take statutory paternity leave. Currently, employees need to give you a minimum of 15 weeks’ notice before the Expected Week of Childbirth (EWC).
Who the changes apply to – these changes will apply in all instances where the EWC is on or after 06 April 2024.
Updating paternity leave policy – you’ll need to make the changes to your paternity leave policy and any connected documents (and ideally let employees know of the changes). Get in touch to subscribe to Intelligent Employment – our unique service that takes the load off so you can progress with your people plan.
Further family-friendly rights coming into force on 06 April 2024 include a new right to unpaid carer’s leave, flexible working becoming a day-one right, and extended redundancy protections for those taking maternity and other family-related leave. Download our comprehensive guide here for the need-to-know detail.
