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15 Feb 2010

The scheme will come into force in April 2011. The new rights will entitle new fathers to take up to six months leave of absence, three months to paid at the statutory rate can be taken during the second half of a baby's first year, if the mother returns to work.

The plans for were outlined by Gordon Brown in September who commented that they were about "giving couples more freedom, dads more rights and children more time with the two people who love them most".

At present dads are entitled to two weeks' paid leave and mothers to 52, 39 of which are paid. The Government says however, that take-up is likely to be low, with less than one in 16 fathers expected to leave work for a period of full-time childcare and government ministers are reassuring small businesses that the impact will be minimal with less than one per cent expected to be affected by the changes.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) are reported by the Daily Telegraph to have written to ministers about what they said was one of eight extra costs due to come in next year, demanding an end to the "constant threat of tinkering to employment law" and calling for a three-year moratorium on changes while firms dealt with the economic downturn.

Key Points
- Fathers will be able to take from two to 26 weeks’ leave, from when babies are 20 weeks old, up to their first birthday. The same leave is available in cases of adoption.
- Mothers have to return to work before fathers can take APL.
- Fathers will be paid for the leave only when it falls during the 39-week SMP period.
- Fathers must have 26 weeks’ continuous service at 15 weeks prior to the child’s birth to be eligible.

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