When one’s baby born, there are two ways to take off time for enjoying time with the new family: ordinary paternity leave and shared parental leave. So, you should not know about these two and take leave according to your necessity. Like maternity leave, dad’s interlude is usually unpaid. But if one can want to compromise with it, the mental and physical benefits paid out to the entire clan will be somehow satisfied and helpful.
While pregnancy and labor instincts for caring in moms, a father needs quality time with his baby for his brain to shift into daddy mode. One recent study found that “Tuning into his infant’s cries connects pathways in Dad’s brain related to social perception, bolstering his ability to forge and maintain relationships.”
For the little guy, early time with father is connected to better cognitive development. In another study, 6-month-old who shared regular playtime with their fathers had more advanced vocabularies by age 3 than those who played only with mom, possibly because dads drop bigger words around bub.
Let’s check the difference between above-mentioned two kinds of leaves:
Ordinary paternity leave
One can take up to two weeks’ ordinary paternity leave immediately after your baby is born, or any time within the following eight weeks. You’re eligible for paternity leave if:
- you’re the baby’s biological father, or the mum’s spouse.
- you’ll be sharing responsibility for your baby’s care
- you have a contract of employment
- you’ve been working for your employer for at least 26 weeks continuously by the end of the 15th week before your baby is due
- If you’re a dad of twins, triplets, or more, you’ll only be allowed one period of ordinary paternity leave.
- If you’re eligible for certain tax credits before your baby is born, you may be able to claim financial support during your paternity leave
- An ordinary paternity leave decides whether to take one week or two weeks off. If you decide to take two weeks’ leave, you must take them together. Statutory paternity leave is paid at the same rate as statutory maternity pay.
- You must let your employer know that you’re taking paternity leave at least 15 weeks before your baby is due. Work out the date by finding the Sunday of the week your baby’s due, then count back 15 weeks. If the baby is born early, you can take paternity leave straight away after the birth, or up to eight weeks after the original due date. You can change your mind about when you want your paternity leave to start. If you do, give your employer as much notice as you can, ideally at least 28 days before you want to start your leave.
Shared parental leave
- If one becomes eligible for paternity leave while her partner is eligible for maternity leave, it’s likely that they both qualify for shared parental leave. By law, your partner can’t work for the first two weeks after your baby’s born. After this, she can either return to work or she can take up to a further 50 weeks as maternity leave. Shared parental leave lets her share her remaining 50 weeks’ maternity leave with you.
- With shared parental leave, you can both be off work at the same time, or you can take leave one at a time. It’s up to you. You may also qualify for statutory shared parental pay, which is paid for up to 39 weeks at the same rate as maternity pay and paternity pay.
- If you take time off together, you will both be paid. Bear in mind that the pay entitlements are also shared. This means that you have 39 weeks of pay between you, not each. You should give your employer at least eight weeks’ notice of when you’d like your shared parental leave to start and how long you’d like off.
Discover how can you manage paternity leaves in order to involve with your new born baby, and check out one man’s guide for becoming a new dad.
