Does Paternity Leave Include Bank Holidays?

In the UK, the law mandates that employers provide their employees with maternity and paternity leave, including statutory paternity leave. 

This article delves into various queries surrounding paternity leave entitlements, enabling you to understand the extent of paternity leave available to your employees and whether paternity leave includes bank holidays or if there’s a provision for a bank holiday during paternity leave.

It can be confusing to understand what your employee’s holiday allowance is if bank holidays during paternity leave occur at the same time. If a bank holiday occurs during your employee’s paternity leave, this is one of the holiday days already covered by your organisation’s statutory annual leave.

As such, if a bank holiday during paternity leave occurs, then the bank holiday will be given as a day off in lieu.

If your employee is eligible for paternity leave entitlements, they can take either one or two weeks of statutory paid paternity leave.

It could be written in their contract that they are entitled to more paternity leave than the legal minimum. This paternity leave is called “enhanced” or “contractual” paternity leave.

The Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024, set to take effect on the 8th March and applicable solely to children expected to be born in the week starting the 6th April or later, will enable fathers or partners to split their statutory paternity leave into separate one-week blocks instead of having to use it in a single stretch.

Employers have to ensure eligible employees are aware of their entitlements and provide the correct statutory paternity leave and pay. 

All paternity leave requests must be responded to in writing and confirm whether the employee qualifies for statutory leave and the relevant dates. If the employee is not eligible, employers must notify them within 28 days of the request and offer clear reasons why they do not qualify. 

Additionally, employers should ensure that the employee’s leave requests are documented properly and handled in compliance with legal requirements, especially with the changes coming into effect in March 2024.

If your employee fits the criteria and is eligible for statutory paid paternity leave, they must  inform their employer that they wish to take paternity leave fifteen weeks before the baby is due to be born. 

They must tell their employer that they’re due to have a baby, how much paternity leave they wish to take and the date they wish to start paternity leave. 

If your employee does not give you notice in the required time frame, you should talk to your employee and ask why this is the case. They must not delay any further.

According to existing laws, employees are required to inform their employer of their intention to take leave 15 weeks before the anticipated week of childbirth. 

As of recent updates to regulations, from the 8th of March 2024, the notification period for each period of absence has now been shortened to four weeks. 

To keep everything clear between employee and employer, you should reply in writing to their request. As an employer, you should confirm the dates that they wish to take and if they’re not entitled to statutory paid paternity leave, you must tell them in writing. 

If that is the case, you have twenty-eight days to tell them that they do not qualify. If needs be, you can use this form to explain why they cannot have statutory paternity leave.

Your employee can choose when to start their paternity leave. Fathers and partners are now allowed to take leave at any point within the first year, extending beyond the initial eight weeks following the birth or adoption placement.

Alternatively, they can also begin their paternity leave on an agreed date after the baby has been born.

They must take their paternity leave all in one go and within eight weeks of the birth. They cannot start paternity leave before the birth of their child, but they can take some of their annual leave before the birth.

Here is a short step-by-step guide on how to claim paternity leave in the UK:

1. Check Eligibility: Ensure you have worked for your employer for a minimum time of 26 weeks by the 15th week before your baby’s due date.

2. Provide Notice: Inform your employer at least 15 weeks before the baby’s expected birth date. You will need to provide:
The baby’s due date.
The date you wish to start your paternity leave.
Whether you intend to take one or two weeks off.

3. Submit Form SC3: Fill in and submit the government’s official paternity leave form (Form SC3) to your employer.

4. Confirm Leave: Ensure your employer acknowledges your request in writing and confirms the dates.

Following these steps will help you claim your statutory paternity leave.

Sometimes, your employee will have to change the start date of their paternity leave. If they wish to do this, they must give you twenty-eight days notice. Unless you request it, it doesn’t have to be in writing. 

In certain circumstances, it will not be possible for your employee to give you twenty-eight days notice. This happens in circumstances when the baby arrives later or earlier than expected.

If your employee’s baby is born later or earlier than expected, the employee should inform you of the new start date for paternity leave. If the baby is born later than expected, then your employee and you could agree that they take another kind of leave, such as holiday leave, if they wish. 

In both cases, be aware that there may be some difficult circumstances that come up related to the birth. If so, allow for someone other than the employee to tell you, such as a close friend or a family member.

In these kinds of circumstances it can be difficult for your employee to go directly to you to inform you of the news. You should allow someone close to them to tell you. You should offer support to your employee, and when they’re ready you can discuss what time off they think they need.

Paternity rights will still apply if their baby is either stillborn after twenty-four weeks of pregnancy or dies soon after birth. 

If your employee is eligible for parental bereavement leave and pay, they have the right to start this after their paternity leave finishes. 

If you need to discuss work-related matters with your employee during this time, it may be better to contact a close friend or relative instead. If so, arrange with this person when the communication happens and how it happens – for example, whether any urgent work updates can be emailed to a friend or family member.

A miscarriage refers to a pregnancy loss that occurs in the first 24 weeks. Unlike a stillbirth or a death, an employee is not entitled to any parental leave.

However, for many people a miscarriage is considered to be a bereavement. As an employer, you should consider offering your employee time off and support during a time which is both physically and emotionally difficult. 

You could have a policy which states that employees can take off a period of time specifically due to pregnancy loss. 

Miscarriages can be very upsetting. Therefore, you should treat any of your employees who have gone through a miscarriage with care and support and you should acknowledge their loss too. You should offer the same level of support as you would do to an employee who has been recently bereaved.

Businesses can easily manage parental leave using our payroll software products. We would recommend using HR software so that parental and annual leave can be easily monitored and changed if there is a change in circumstances.

Yes, while on maternity leave, you continue to accrue bank holidays as well as your usual annual leave entitlement. 

This means if bank holidays fall during your maternity leave, you’re entitled to take this time off at a later date, adding it to your annual leave balance. 

This rule ensures that you don’t miss out on these entitlements just because you’re on maternity leave, supporting your right to the same holiday benefits as if you were working during this period.

UK laws around paternity leave and pay ensure that employees are treated fairly, ensuring they receive entitlements, including leave, in cases of childbirth or adoption. Employers must follow these regulations and remain updated on changes to paternity leave policies.

Paternity pay is calculated based on your average weekly earnings. If paternity leave falls on a bank holiday, your paternity pay won’t change. Paternity leave rights ensure that your earnings are calculated consistently, even if you take leave during a bank holiday period.

The basic paternity leave entitlement allows eligible employees to take up to two weeks of leave. If paternity leave falls on a bank holiday, that bank holiday is considered part of the leave period. Bank holidays during paternity leave are covered under statutory leave entitlements, ensuring employees don’t miss out on any benefits.