Paternity leave questions

Hootie19

My son and his girlfriend are expecting a baby. The due date given is 25th December. Obviously my son would like to be with his girlfriend when the baby is born.

However, there are a couple of obstacles.

1. She lives about 3 hours drive away

and

2. He works in food retail, and they are generally not allowed time off over Christmas.

So - would the paternity rules override any rules that the shop may have in place? Actually - is paternity leave a legal right or is it optional for employers?

And how much notice does he have to give. Obviously although the due date given is 25th December, babies are notoriously bad at adhering to their timetable. So if, for example, he is down to work on a day, and in the night his girlfriend goes into labour, can he just go, and let the company know as early as possible the next morning? Or does he have to give a lot of notice?

He hasn't approached work about this yet, but he doesn't think he'd be allowed to tag any accrued annual leave onto paternity leave. If he did want to, can the employer refuse? (I suspect they can, but thought I'd check anyway).

Mrs_MoneyPenny_2

My husband told his workplace that I was pregnant when we started telling people and that he would be taking paternity leave.
I would suggest your son tells work asap. They are then more prepared for any changes that need to be made to accommodate his leave. When she does go into labour he needs to let work know as early as possible and his leave would start from then.

ohreally

This is dependant on several factors, earnings; length of service; employment status.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/paternity.dsb

mitchb

From oreallys link

You must give your employer the correct amount of notice. You should tell them in writing either:

• at least 15 weeks before the beginning of the week when the baby's due

Not giving the correct notice

If you can't give the full notice period to your employer for a valid reason you should still give as much notice as possible. A valid reason might be, for example, if the baby arrives early or the adoption agency doesn't give you long enough notice.
You may still qualify if you meet the other conditions or would have if your baby had not been born early. If there is no valid reason (eg you simply forgot) you will lose your entitlement.

Looks like he may be too late to tell them and qualify for parental leave. Unsure what happens in this scenario, im sure someone will be able to guide

Good luck on arrival of your new grandchild

Hootie19

Thank you all. He did tell his store manager (and area manager) when they found out she was pregnant, and he has taken annual leave to be able to go with her to a couple of appointments/scans. But oops, looks like he's messed up over the paternity leave thing. He will have to throw himself on their mercy (not an encouraging prospect) and hope for the best. Sigh - long distance relationships, eh?

Ronaldo_Mconaldo

How is this long distance relationship going to work when the baby is born? Call me a traditionalist but I wold have expected the dad of the baby to be living with the mum. Well unless they're separated.

Bumpmakesfour

I'm due on the 31st december and my hubby had until the end of my 24th week to inform his boss of his intention to take paternity leave so your son technically has left it too late and leave will be at company discretion.He needs to speak to his boss/HR dept asap especially as with him being in retail they'll be needing to cover shifts at their busiest time of the year.
And on another note he'll need to be prepared for the drop in wages if he does get statutory pay.My hubby has worrked for the same company for over 5 years but they don't have any paternity pay so the 2 weeks hubby has off are at the reduced rate of £128 ish a week.
If your sons company won't allow his leave.. read this..
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Expectingorbringingupchildren/DG_10018750

Good luck x

Carl31

Ronaldo_Mconaldo wrote: »

How is this long distance relationship going to work when the baby is born? Call me a traditionalist but I wold have expected the dad of the baby to be living with the mum. Well unless they're separated.

lol, how nosey are you? not sure thats your business really and nothing to do with the OP

Ronaldo_Mconaldo

We're allowed to ask questions now aren't we? Just because it's not a pleasant question doesn't mean you can't ask it.

Jarndyce

Ronaldo_Mconaldo wrote: »

We're allowed to ask questions now aren't we? Just because it's not a pleasant question doesn't mean you can't ask it.

It was not a question, it was a judgement. You are patronisingly applying your own outdated moral code on to people you have never met and know nothing about. You "expect" that to happen do you? You are not only a traditionalist but a staggeringly arrogant buffoon.

Ronaldo_Mconaldo

Oh yes, of course. Modern times mean that living three hours from your child mean that the kid won't be at the slightest disadvantage. What with web cams and facebook it's the perfect start in life. And why shouldn't people be judgemental? What difference does it make? Except offending people who have nothing to do with it - in this case: you.