What am I entitled to?

One or two weeks' paid leave (often called paternity benefit) when you are your partner have a child. In order to qualify, you must:

• Be employed and have worked for your employer for 41 weeks by the time your baby is due
• You are the biological father, or married to, or the partner of the baby's mother (this includes same-sex partners)
• You will have responsibility for the baby's upbringing
• You intend to help care for the baby in your time off (and not use the time to go on a fishing holiday or something slack like that)
• Have given your employer the correct notice of your paternity leave

How do I claim my leave and allowance?

• To qualify for leave, you must give notice to your employer at least 15 weeks before the due date of your child
• You are entitled to take up to two weeks off (these must be in one block unless otherwise agreed by your employer) within 56 days of the birth
• You can't start your leave until the day the baby is born
• You must give your employer 28 days' notice if you want to change the date.

Excellent! Show me the money

Statutory paternity pay is paid at the same rate as Statutory Maternity Pay. You'll get £123.06  per week or 90% of your gross weekly earnings, whichever is lower. From 4 April 2010, it's £124.88 per week.

What if I'm adopting a child?

You still have the right to take some time off work, providing:

• You've been employed for at least 26 weeks by the time you are matched with your child for adoption
• You're not taking adoption leave (if you are adopting with your partner, one of you may take adoption leave and one may take paternity leave)
• You'll have responsibility for the child's upbringing
• You've given your employer the correct notice to take paternity leave

Thanks to the CAB for help with this article.

Updated: 12/08/2010