Paternity Pay help

ScotimusPrime

SeduLOUs wrote: »

Unfortunately it sounds like game over then, and your only option is to take some paid annual leave.

Yeah, that's what I figured. Thanks anyway.

Deinonychus_2

midnight_express wrote: »

Maybe the time to think about this was before deciding to have three kids that you are unable to support.

Maybe the time to think about your comment was before deciding to press *submit reply* with no knowledge that supports your accusations.

The eligibility is that you have to work for your employer for 26 weeks. Pregnancy is 40 weeks. His wife is due next month and he has not worked there for 26 weeks. Implying he did not have this job when they decided to have this child. So, bad luck could have been on his side and he could have lost his previous job (we can probably assume that he wasn't unemployed as he did say it was a decision to have the baby, rather than a happy accident). Who knows? But he was just coming here seeking clarification because his boss implied there was another solution aside from using his annual leave, not because he needed advice on supporting his offspring.

Carry on...

Mrs_Soup

Of course your employer could allow you some paid or unpaid time off at their own discretion (and cost if paid) but it would be the rare employer who would allow this although might. It is one of the anomolies of the system though that paternity leave only kicks in after 26 weeks with that employer, unlike maternity allowance which can be paid based on past employment.

System

Considering this paternity leave lark is a newish thing I wonder how we all managed before it

I was allowed to take a fortnight's paid leave providing I had the leave available. If not then tough, what couldn't be covered by paid leave was unpaid and only up to a max of a fortnight in total.

Its soooo tough being a new parent these days.

NYM

Congratulations on the imminent birth anyway x

bloolagoon

ScotimusPrime wrote: »

Actually we are perfectly able to support three children due to very clever budgeting on my wife's part. We had thought long and hard about it beforehand, so your attitude is unnecessary and neither appreciated nor appropriate.

To be fair saying your current two children are already supported by benefits - WTC, CTC, CB. Then having a go at someone for asking why you had a 3rd then responding with clever budgeting seems strange.

You will need to take annual leave or unpaid leave, if renting then perhaps housing benefit.

I do think paternity should be paid and think it's wrong that the government doesn't as 2 weeks isnt a lot and know as a mother I'd want my husband to keep his annual leave but as you know there's not this in place if not entitled.

SeduLOUs

bloolagoon wrote: »

I do think paternity should be paid and think it's wrong that the government doesn't as 2 weeks isnt a lot and know as a mother I'd want my husband to keep his annual leave but as you know there's not this in place if not entitled.

Paternity is paid if you are working long enough to be entitled.

The system has to prevent abuse by people who would only get a job in order to get maternity/paternity benefits (hence the qualifying weeks). Maternity/paternity pay is designed to allow one parent to take time off work without losing all of the pay they would have normally had - if you didn't work in the first place, there is nothing to lose, and had OP or his partner been working for longer, they would have been entitled.

bloolagoon

SeduLOUs wrote: »

Paternity is paid if you are working long enough to be entitled.

The system has to prevent abuse by people who would only get a job in order to get maternity/paternity benefits (hence the qualifying weeks). Maternity/paternity pay is designed to allow one parent to take time off work without losing all of the pay they would have normally had - if you didn't work in the first place, there is nothing to lose, and had OP or his partner been working for longer, they would have been entitled.

They should pay 1 weeks paternity to incentivise jobs then

I know what you mean but i find it strange that we pay in/out of work child benefits (at times accumulatively more than paternity), especially if WTC is being paid but not paternity. In anything it could act as a barrier to work.

SeduLOUs

bloolagoon wrote: »

I know what you mean but i find it strange that we pay in/out of work child benefits (at times accumulatively more than paternity), especially if WTC is being paid but not paternity. In anything it could act as a barrier to work.

It's not really a barrier to work, just a barrier to people getting work deliberately on the 'last minute' with the main intention to be to gain additional benefits on birth of baby.

Maternity/paternity isn't a support benefit like others, it is meant to fill the gap of loss of earnings during the first months after birth for whichever parent chooses to stay home to look after child. If there is no loss of earnings, there is no gap to fill. OP and his partner should be able to support children on the other benefits they get, and should not expect to also be able to take a long period of paid time off work from a job that was only obtained after pregnancy.

sheramber

Paternity pay is £138.18.pw Not everybody can absorb such a pay cut with all the bills still to pay.