From 1 January 2010, employee-fathers taking care of a child can request one week's paternity leave until the child is 12 months old. In 2012, the amount of available paternity leave will increase to two weeks.
Paternity leave will be available whether or not the mother is on maternity leave at the same time.
Also from 1 January 2010, mothers in employment will be able to request up to 2 weeks' additional maternity leave to follow directly on from their standard maternity leave. This will increase to a maximum of 4 weeks in 2012 and 6 weeks in 2014.
Mothers having twins or other multiple births will be entitled to up to 3 weeks' additional maternity leave in 2010, rising to 6 weeks in 2012 and 8 weeks in 2014.
Instead of taking this additional maternity leave:
- a mother may ask to reduce her working hours to no more than half of her normal daily and weekly working hours, or she may return to work after her standard maternity leave and the additional leave may be taken by the father.
Also from 1 January 2010, employees who adopt a child or act as a long-term foster parent will have the right to take additional adoption leave for a maximum of 1-3 weeks, depending on the circumstances of the case. This entitlement will gradually increase to 3-8 weeks in 2014. Additional adoption leave will be granted on the terms of maternity leave.
This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq
Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.
The original publication date for this article was 28/12/2009.