Legal advice: Paternity rights
Labour proposes to give fathers further entitlements.
By Rebecca Caws of thePublican.com's team of legal experts from solicitors Joelson Wilson.
There has been some discussion recently on whether there should be a Minister for Men to represent the rights and needs of British men. Central topics were paternity leave, flexible working and men's health issues. This may not be so unrealistic considering that men's rights (in particular paternity issues) have been making the headlines over the past couple of years, with Spiderman scaling a crane near Tower Bridge and Batman almost reaching a balcony at Buckingham Palace.
So how does this relate to men in the workplace? One recent change from an employment law perspective is paternity leave.
Its obvious equivalent is maternity leave and to some extent the entitlements are similar. Both have qualifying requirements, a limited weekly pay and a limited duration. Employers are probably more clued up on maternity entitlements as paternity leave has only been a legal requirement since December 2002, so it is likely that many remain slightly unsure of the full entitlement.
To qualify for paternity leave and paternity pay, the employee must have completed 26 weeks' service by the qualifying week (the 15th week before the week in which the baby is expected) and remain employed until the baby is born. The employee must also take the time off to care for the mother and/or the baby and be either the biological father of the baby or the mother's partner. Finally, the employee must earn an average of more than £79 per week. If he qualifies, the employee is entitled to two weeks' paid paternity leave on paternity pay of £102.80 per week - or 90 per cent of his salary if this is less than £100 per week.
Are you aware that paternity entitlements may be increased next year? A few months ago, the Labour Party showed its commitment to "family friendly" policies, by suggesting that paternity pay be increased to 90 per cent of the employee's actual salary, which may encourage some fathers to take advantage of the entitlement.
Another suggestion is to allow partners the flexibility to take advantage of the "additional maternity leave" - the second six-month leave period which some mothers are entitled to, which he could opt to take, enabling the mother to return to work. This leave is currently unpaid, but the proposal is to continue the £102.80 per week maternity pay for the additional leave period.
It remains to be seen whether fathers would welcome this opportunity, although the whole matter obviously depends upon Labour remaining in power following this year's general election.
