Q. One of my employee’s has asked if he can take additional paternity leave. What is the process I need to follow?

A. The regulations allowing employees to take additional paternity leave are brand new, having come into force on the 6^th of April, so in answer to this question we have included details of what this is, who is entitled and of course what the process is.

What is Additional Paternity Leave (APL)?

New fathers whose partner is returning or has returned to work, could have the right to Additional Paternity Leave. The scheme has been designed to minimise the administrative burdens on business whilst allowing fathers a greater opportunity to be involved in raising their child. Mothers now have the choice between taking their full maternity leave and returning to work early, allowing their partner to take leave instead.

Additional Paternity Leave is for a maximum of 26 weeks. If the father’s partner has returned to work, the leave can be taken between 20 weeks and one year after their child is born or placed for adoption. Leave must end no later than 12 months after that date and must be taken as a single block in multiples of complete weeks, for a minimum period of 2 weeks.

Who qualifies to take APL?

To qualify for Additional Paternity Leave an individual must be an employee. To qualify for Additional Statutory Paternity Pay they must be an employed earner and both they and their partner must meet certain criteria.

An employee qualifies for Additional Paternity Leave and Pay if either:

·         they are the father of a child born on or after 3 April 2011

·         they and their partner received notification that they were matched with a child for adoption on or after 3 April 2011

·         their spouse, civil partner or partner (including same-sex relationships) is adopting/adopted a child from overseas and the child enters Great Britain on or after 3 April 2011

Taking additional paternity Leave – What is the process?

Employee to notify employer of intention to take additional paternity leave

The employee must inform their employer in writing at least eight weeks before they want to start their leave. They can use form SC7 (for births), SC8 (for UK adoptions) or SC9 (for overseas adoptions). Some employers may have their own version of the form so the employee should check this. Otherwise the forms come from HMRC and can be downloaded from the website.

This must include:

·         when the baby was due, the date they were matched for adoption or (for overseas adoption) officially notified of the adoption

·         the actual date of the baby’s birth, placement for adoption or (for overseas adoptions) entry into Great Britain

·         when they want to start and finish their Additional Paternity Leave and Pay (the leave and pay dates may be different if the employee is taking some unpaid leave)

·         that they are taking leave to care for the child

The form must also state that the employee is either:

·         the father of the child

·         the spouse, civil partner or partner (including same-sex relationships) of the mother or adopter taking adoption leave

 The employee must also confirm their relationship with the child:

·         for UK adoptions - they must have been matched with the child

·         for other cases, they must confirm that they have the main responsibility (apart from that of the mother or adopter) for the care of the child

The employee must also provide a signed declaration from the mother or adopter

The child's mother or the adopter that has taken adoption leave must also sign this declaration stating:

·         their name, address (including postcode) and National Insurance number

·         they were entitled to either Statutory Maternity Pay, Maternity Allowance or Statutory Adoption Pay (or Statutory Maternity or Adoption Leave if they are applying for unpaid leave only)

·         they have given notice of their intention to return to work and the date they intend to return to work

·         the start date of their Maternity Allowance, Statutory Maternity Pay or Statutory Adoption Pay period (if the father is applying for Additional Statutory Paternity Pay)

·         your employee is the only person taking Additional Paternity Leave or Pay in respect of the child

·         they consent to the employer processing the information given in the declaration

The declaration also has to state that the employee is either:

·         the father of the child

·         mother's spouse, partner or civil partner (including same-sex relationships)

·         jointly adopting the child with their spouse or partner (including same-sex relationships)

·         the spouse, civil partner or partner (including same-sex relationships) of an overseas adopter

Employer’s responsibilities after receiving your notice of Additional Paternity Leave

Within 28 days of the employee giving notice, the employer may ask for:

·         a copy of the child's birth certificate or adoption matching certificate

·         the employment details of the mother or adopter that has taken adoption leave

If asked for this information the employee must give it within 28 days or you may not be able to take your leave.

Once the employer has informed the employer that they want to take Additional Paternity Leave and/or Pay (including any additional evidence requested), the employer should write to the employee. This should be within 28 days, and should tell the employee the date when their leave and pay will start and end.

There are additional criteria to be met for an employee to be entitled to additional paternity pay and additional records must be kept. Criteria and processes are in line with those for additional maternity pay.  HR Advantage can provide these details if required.

Q. Regarding the removal of the default retirement age, we need to bring the section on retirement in our handbook up to date.  We would like it to be possible for us to check the employee’s competence to determine whether they are still capable of doing the job to the company’s satisfaction.  Also is it possible to ask for 3 months notice or longer when an employee gives notice of “retirement”?

A. We will be updating our client’s documentation over the next month to include all recent legislation changes. You cannot insert any wording that allows you to check the competence of all staff over 65. However, you automatically have the right to do competence checks on all staff regularly and can do this without any supporting wording in your employment documentation, but if you state that you will only be doing this for staff over the age of 65 you will be discriminating against this category of people. It would also be considered discriminatory to require longer notice from “retirees” compared to other members of staff.