An employee who has a child born or expected to be born or placed for adoption and who satisfies certain criteria is entitled to take either one week or two consecutive weeks as paternity leave. It is up to the employee to decide whether to take one or two weeks.

Statutory paternity leave can be taken any time up to 56 days after the date of birth or placement for adoption (or if the baby is born prematurely up to 56 days after the originally expected date of birth).

The employee must give the employer written notice at least 15 weeks before the expected week of the childbirth (there is a special consideration if it is not reasonably practicable to comply with this requirement). The date the leave starts can be changed if 28 days' notice is given.

The rules, which give employees the right to paternity leave on adoption of a child, are separate from and in addition to the rules which give their spouses or partners the right to adoption leave.

In most cases, the employee will be entitled to statutory paternity pay during paternity leave.

There has been a recent development in this area of law in the form of the Maternity and Parental Leave etc., and the Paternity and Adoption Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2006. This new piece of legislation only affects employees with whom a child is expected to be placed for adoption, where the placement is expected to occur on or after 1st April 2007.