Paternity Leave

Who is it for?

This Policy applies to all civilian staff in the MOD and Service line managers of civilian staff in the execution of their line management responsibilities except:

• Ministry of Defence Police, who should refer to MDP Maternity Adoption Paternity and Parental Leave;

• Former MOD employees, pensioners and dependants;

• Prospective employees;

• Fee earners and contractors;

• People on secondment or loan to MOD from OGD's industry and academia or on work experience placements (but depends on the terms of secondments/Loan Agreements);

• Locally engaged civilians;

• Trading Fund;

• Queen Victoria School (QVS) Peripatetic teachers;

• Sovereign Base Area Administration (SBAA) Cyprus District Judge and Customs & Exercise;

• Traffic Representatives (Ground Hostesses).

What do I get?

You are entitled to either one or two consecutive weeks (not odd days) of paternity leave at the time of the birth of your child, or in the case of adoption, the placement of your child.

You can take paternity leave if you are:

• the baby’s father

• the expectant mother’s spouse or civil partner

• in a long-term relationship with the expectant mother

• the intended parent (if you’re having a baby through a surrogacy arrangement)

If eligible, you may be entitled to Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP), which MOD enhances to 100% so that you will receive full pay for leave taken.

To receive full pay, you must have completed 26 weeks’ continuous service ending with the 15th week before the baby is due. To qualify for SPP your average weekly earnings must be at or above the Lower Earnings Limit for National Insurance purposes at this time.

Leave cannot start before the birth of your child and must be taken within 56 days of the birth (or due date if the baby is early) or adoption placement.

You can take unpaid leave to accompany a pregnant woman to two antenatal appointments.

Next Steps