Paternity leave and pay

To qualify for paternity leave, an employee should notify you no later than the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth (EWC) - or as soon as is reasonably practicable - of:

• the expected week of the baby's birth
• whether they wish to take one week's or two consecutive weeks' leave
• when they want their paternity leave to start - see the start and duration of paternity leave - births and surrogacy births

The EWC is the week in which the expected date of the baby's birth falls - starting with the preceding Sunday and ending the following Saturday. If the birth date falls on a Sunday, that date is the first day in the EWC.

The employee does not have to give you any medical evidence of the pregnancy.

Once the notice is received by the employer, it is advisable to discuss the date the employee is expected to return to work from paternity leave. However, you are not under any legal obligation to give the employee confirmation of the end date of their paternity leave.

Written notification of paternity leave

You may request notification of paternity leave in writing.

Many employees will find it convenient to claim statutory paternity pay at the same time. However, to do this, they must also make a declaration - see statutory paternity pay.

If you receive this declaration for payment no later than the end of the 15th week before the EWC, the employee has complied with the leave notification requirements anyway.

Notification of the actual birth date

The employee should tell you the actual date of birth - and in writing if you request it. However, the employee does not have to give you any medical evidence of the birth.