Update to Paternity Legislation 2024
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After announcing proposals to make changes to paternity leave rights in summer 2023, the government has now published draft legislation in the form of the Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024.
The Regulations make the following changes:
- employees will be able to take their two-week paternity leave entitlement as two separate one-week blocks (rather than having to take just one week in total or two consecutive weeks).
- employees will be able to take paternity leave at any time in the 52 weeks after birth (rather than having to take leave in the 56 days following birth).
- employees will only need to give 28 days’ notice of their intention to take paternity leave (reduced from the previous position that required notice to be given 15 weeks before the Expected Week of Childbirth (EWC))
The Regulations are stated to apply in all cases where the EWC is on, or after, 6 April 2024.
These changes allow parents to have more flexibility with regard to their childcare to support their families at a time which is appropriate for their individual family’s needs.
Why is paternity leave important?
Paternity leave is good for a number of reasons each contributing to the well-being of parents, children and their families. Firstly, it allows parents with the invaluable opportunity to bond with their newborns which has a long lasting effect on the child’s development and relationship with the parent.
Paternity leave also allows parents to support their partners at a time of change which can be difficult for a lot of families. Being available allows parents to share the responsibilities of caregiving and household chores to strengthen the relationship between the two partners and allow for the best care to be given to the child/children.
Furthermore, research has shown that children whose parents are actively involved in their upbringing tend to have better social, emotion and cognitive development outcomes. Paternity leave enables parents to be present during important milestones and attend medical appointments to positively influence their children’s overall well-being.
Additionally, parents do not need to feel as though they have to sacrifice their careers when taking paternity leave, so it promotes having a healthier work-life balance enhancing their general well being and job satisfaction and it also demonstrates an organisation’s commitments to a more family-friendly work culture.
The HR2day team are always keeping up to date with legislation to ensure that organisations are always compliant.
If you would like to speak with the team about your paternity policy or would like support with this, please call us on 01325 288 299 (opt 2) or email us at [email protected].
