Anna Thomas & Suzanne McKie analyse the potential effects of the additional paternity leave regulations
Within the raft of legislation brought into force on 6 April, one provision stands out. The Additional Paternity Leave Regulations 2010 (APLR) confer a new right for employee fathers of children born on or after 3 April 2011 to take additional paternity leave of up to 26 weeks.
The APLR implement a power in the Work and Families Act 2006 incorporated by that Act into the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) which governs entitlement to additional paternity leave.By the Additional Statutory Paternity Pay (Weekly Rates) Regulations 2010 (ASLR) the leave may be paid if it is taken during the mother’s maternity pay or allowance pay period. Additional paternity leave and pay will also be available to adopters where there is an entitlement to statutory adoption leave and pay.
Like the Flexible Working Regulations, the APLR are part of a wider policy objective to enable fathers to play a more significant role in bringing up their children and provide parents with greater choice in how
