Different rules and criteria apply depending on whether the employee or their partner is adopting a child from the UK or from overseas.
Adoption includes a child adopted from a UK adoption agency, 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 in England, Wales and Scotland. In Northern Ireland a foster child can be adopted from a UK adoption agency (but not a court ordered adoption).
An employee qualifies for paternity leave when adopting a child from the UK if they:
To qualify for paternity leave, an employee should notify their employer of their intention to take it and specify:
You should notify your employer as soon as it's reasonably practicable if you're unable to notify them within seven days of being told you've been matched.
Your employer can request that you provide this notification in writing and that you also provide a written declaration stating that you satisfy the conditions that entitle you to take paternity leave and that you will be taking the time off to support the child's adopter mother and/or care for the child.
In addition, you should provide your employer with a further notice as soon as reasonably practicable after the child's placement, of the date on which the child was actually placed. Your employer can also request you to provide this notice in writing.
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 at any one time.
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.
You can choose to begin paternity leave on one of the following dates:
Where you have chosen to begin your leave on a particular date and the child is not placed with you or your partner/spouse on or before that date, then you must vary your choice of start date by substituting it to a later date or one of the above-mentioned options. In these circumstances, you should:
You can change the paternity leave start date so long as they give you the following notice:
Your employer can request you to provide this notice in writing. If you can't comply with the notice periods, you should give notice as soon as it is reasonably practicable to do so.
An employee qualifies for statutory 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 (In England this will usually be the Department for Education) that the authority either:
In either case, the notification certificate confirms that the other or main adopter:
To qualify for paternity leave in relation to an overseas adoption, you should notify your employer of your intention to take paternity leave and specify:
Both of these dates should be provided to your employer within 28 days of the adopter receiving the official notification if you already have the necessary 26 weeks' qualifying service. If the official notification is received before you have the necessary qualifying service, you must provide this information within 28 days of completing the 26 weeks' qualifying service.
A further notice will be required after the child has entered the UK. You must inform your employer of the date upon which the child entered the UK within 28 days of the child's date of entry.
Your employer can request you to provide any of the above notifications in writing.
If your employer requests it, you must also provide a written declaration stating that you satisfy the conditions that entitle you to take paternity leave and that you will be taking the time off to support the child's adopter mother and/or care for the child. This should be provided to you within 14 days of the request.
You must tell your employer as soon as is reasonably practicable if you find out that the child will not be entering the UK.
Eligible employees can choose to take either one or two whole weeks' statutory paternity leave in relation to an overseas adoption. 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 at any one time.
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.
You can choose to begin your paternity leave on one of the following dates:
Changing the start date of leave
You can change your mind about the date on which you want to start your paternity leave providing that you tell your employer at least 28 days in advance of the new date.