Paternity Pay - Need Help Please

Seadogs_2010

Hi All
I would just like some advice please on the following...
I have worked at my employer on a full time contract since Nov 2010. My partner had our first child on July 28th this year. I just missed out by days for my employer to pay my Statutory Paternity Pay. They only told me this last week! They said they thought I had been their long enough but due to a mistake by admin, they have now found out I had not been their long enough for them to pay it.

What can I now do to claim for the two weeks I have had off?
Is their a time limit to claim?
Do I claim off the government?

Any advice would be great and thank you

karenx

What exactly are you wanting to claim? You wernt entitled to any paternity pay from your employer

wombles_forever

Hi, have a look at http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Illorinjured/DG_178466. This tells you how to proceed if you think that your employer's decision is wrong or how to dispute your claim.

I think the only thing you can do is discuss with your employer what your options are if you do not qualify (holiday pay for example).

lizzywig

To claim Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay you need to have worked for your employer for a minimum of 26 weeks by the 15th week before the baby is due. This is not your companies policy this is the law. I would have thought that this is something in your companies handbook and it's certainly available on numerous sites online. However I can easily understand how when your company tell you that something is ok you just assume it is. However there is nothing that you can 'do' about it. It is what it is. I am guessing from the dates that you have now been paid from when you went on 'paternity leave' and this is why you are querying it.

The alternatives to paid Ordinary Statutory Paternity Pay are taking paid holiday or unpaid leave. So seeing as you've already taken the time off work you can either take it as unpaid or ask the company to pay you holiday pay, providing you have some saved up. Seeing that they told you that you were eligable it would be the decent thing for them to arrange to pay you holiday pay, although this may not go through until your next pay day and I doubt they have to honour any request such as this. My husband is planning on taking holiday when I give birth next month because we can't afford to live off of £102/wk, it's not ideal because it's meant he's gone without holiday all year but you do what you have to do.

Flower08

Seadogs_2010 wrote: »

.

What can I now do to claim for the two weeks I have had off?
Is their a time limit to claim?
Do I claim off the government?

Any advice would be great and thank you

What do you want to claim? Its is government legislation that says how long you have to have been working for your company before you can get SPP. Annoying that you miss out but so little but I'm pretty sure theres nothing you can do about it.

I am due in 3 weeks and my OH cannot have Paternity Pay as he changed jobs in January and he therefore misses out by something like a week. It is annoying but he is taking time off as holiday instead.