Adoption includes a child adopted from a surrogate mother where a couple have applied for a parental order. It also includes foster children who are adopted under the 'Fostering for Adoption' scheme run by local authorities.
Different rules and criteria apply depending on whether the employee or their partner is adopting a child from the UK or from overseas.
Qualifying for statutory paternity leave
An employee qualifies for paternity leave when adopting a child from the UK if they:
When must they provide notice?
An employee must notify you when they want to take paternity leave no more than seven days after the adopter is notified that they have been matched with a child. This is the date that the adoption agency notifies the employee of the details of a child that they believe is suitable for adoption. This is known as the 'match date'.
Contents of notification
To qualify for paternity leave an employee should notify you of their intention to take paternity leave and specify:
If it is not reasonably practicable for the employee to provide the notice by the required time then you should be notified as soon as it is becomes reasonably practicable for the employee to do so.
You can request the employee to provide this notification in writing.
You can also request the employee to provide a written declaration stating that they satisfy the conditions that entitle them to take paternity leave and that they will be taking the time off to support the child's adopter mother and/or care for the child.
You do not have to give the employee confirmation of the end date of their paternity leave.
Notice of placement
In addition, the employee should provide you with a further notice as soon as reasonably practicable after the child's placement, of the date on which the child was placed. You can request the employee to provide this notice in writing.
The start and duration of paternity leave
Eligible employees can choose to take either one or two whole weeks' statutory paternity leave. They cannot take it as odd days or as two separate weeks.
The duration of paternity leave remains the same regardless of the number of children that are being adopted in a single adoption (e.g. adopting twins).
Paternity leave can begin any time from the date of the child's placement with the adopter but must be completed within 56 days of this date.
The employee can choose to begin their paternity leave on one of the following dates:
Changing the start date of leave
The employee can change the date when they want their paternity leave to start so long as they give you the following notice which you can request that they give to you in writing:
Please note that in the case of the last option, if the date when the employee's leave starts turns out to be different (as the date that the child is actually placed differs from the EDP) then the employee will not be required to provide you with a new notice.
Where an employee has chosen to begin their period of paternity leave on a particular date and the child is not placed with the employee on or before that date then the employee must vary their choice of start date using one of the above-mentioned options. In these circumstances, the employee should:
You are not under any obligation to accept notice of a change of date if you are not given the correct amount of notice (although you can use your discretion to choose to do so). However, if it is not reasonably practicable for the employee to give you this notice in time, then it should be given to you as soon as it becomes reasonably practicable to do so.
Qualifying for paternity leave
An employee qualifies for paternity leave when adopting a child from overseas if they:
Official notification is written notification issued by or on behalf of the relevant domestic authority (usually the Department of Education) that the authority either:
In either case, the notification certificate confirms that the other or main adopter:
Contents of notification
To qualify for paternity leave, an employee should notify you of their intention to take it and specify:
You can also request the employee to provide a written declaration stating that their partner or spouse has received an official notification and confirming that they are married to or the partner of the child's adopter and have or expect to have responsibility for the child's upbringing with the other joint adoptive parent or the individual adopter. This should be provided to you within 14 days of your request.
You do not have to give the employee confirmation of the end date of their paternity leave.
When must they provide notice?
Where the employee already has the necessary 26 weeks' qualifying service when the adopter receives the official notification, they must give you the above information within 28 days of the adopter receiving the official notification. At this point, the employee should know roughly when the child will enter the country.
Where the employee receives the official notification before they have the necessary qualifying service, they must give you notice within 28 days of completing the 26 weeks' qualifying service. Again, at this point, the employee should know roughly when the child will enter the country.
Notice of entry
A further notice will be required after the child has entered the United Kingdom. The employee must tell you the date when the child entered the UK within 28 days of the child's date of entry.
You can request the employee to provide this notification in writing.
Employees must tell you as soon as is reasonably practicable if they find out that the child will not be entering the United Kingdom and that the adoption is not going ahead.
The start and duration of paternity leave
Eligible employees can choose to take either one or two whole weeks' statutory paternity leave. They cannot take it as odd days or as two separate weeks.
The duration of paternity leave remains the same regardless of the number of children that are being adopted (e.g. adopting twins).
Paternity leave can begin any time from the date of the child's entry into the UK (the date of entry) but it must be completed within 56 days of this date.
The employee can choose to begin their paternity leave on one of the following dates:
Changing the start date of leave
Employees can change their mind about the date on which they want their leave to start provided they tell you at least 28 days in advance of the new date.