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Introduction to this document

Change of paternity leave request

An employee can vary their chosen paternity leave start date, but they must give you appropriate notice. You can also require the variation notice to be in writing, so you can provide our form for this purpose.

Change request

If, having given you notification of their paternity leave plans (see our Paternity Leave Request Form), an employee subsequently wants to vary the start date of their paternity leave, they can change the date as follows:

  • if they wish to change the start date to the child’s actual birth date or the date when the child is placed for adoption, they must notify you of this at least 28 days before the date they specified in their paternity leave request form as the first day of the expected week of childbirth (EWC) or the expected adoption placement date
  • if they wish to change the start date to a predetermined date (or a different predetermined date), they must give notice at least 28 days before that date
  • if they wish to change the start date to a specified number of days (or a different specified number of days) after the date on which the child is born or placed for adoption, they must notify you of this at least 28 days before the date falling that number of days after the date they specified in their paternity leave request form as the first day of the EWC or the expected adoption placement date.

In each case, if it’s not reasonably practicable to comply with the relevant time limit, the employee must notify you of their intended change of date as soon as reasonably practicable.

Completed form

As the employee’s notice must be in writing if you so request, we’ve drafted our Change of Paternity Leave Request so as to enable them to easily comply with the statutory requirements. It simply asks them to complete the details of their original chosen paternity leave start date and their new chosen start date, with the three options for a new start date as set out above, and then to sign and date the form and return it to their line manager. Once the employee submits this form to you, simply do a short acknowledgement letter or email confirming receipt of it and stating that their date change is approved.

Compulsory variation

Where the employee chose to begin their paternity leave on a predetermined date but the child hasn’t been born or placed for adoption by that date, they will be obliged to vary their start date by substituting a later predetermined date or choosing an alternative start date, and they must then give you notice of the variation as soon as reasonably practicable.