This article focuses on paternity leave rights when adopting a child from outside of the UK.
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:
Length
Eligible employees can choose to take up to 2 weeks' paternity leave.
In Northern Ireland, this must be taken as a single block of leave (i.e. 1 week or 2 weeks).
In England, Scotland or Wales, if the child is expected to enter Great Britain on or after 6 April 2024, employees can choose to take the leave in a single block or in 2 separate blocks of 1 week.
The duration of leave remains the same regardless of the number of children that are being adopted in a single adoption (e.g. adopting twins).
Start date
An employee can choose to start their paternity leave either:
1. on the actual date that the child enters the UK; or
2. on a specific date after the child enters the UK.
If an employee chooses option 1 and they are at work on that day, their leave will begin on the next day.
Deadlines
In Northern Ireland, all paternity leave must finish no later than 56 days after the date that the child enters Northern Ireland.
In England, Scotland or Wales, if the child is expected to enter Great Britain on or after 6 April 2024, all paternity leave must finish no later than 52 weeks after the date that the child enters Great Britain.
Requirement 1
Initially, the employee must tell you the following information (in writing, if you ask for it to be):
If the employee already has the necessary 26 weeks' continuous employment with you when the adopter receives the official notification, they must give you the above information within 28 days of the adopter receiving the official notification.
If the employee receives the official notification before they've reached 26 weeks' continuous employment, they can wait. They must then give you notice within 28 days after reaching the 26 weeks.
Requirement 2
The employee also has to give you the following information (in writing, if you ask for it to be):
Optional requirement
You can also ask the employee to give you a signed declaration that says:
If you do ask for this, the employee must give it to you within 14 days.
If the child doesn't enter Northern Ireland
Employees must tell you as soon as is reasonably practicable if they find out that the child will not be entering Northern Ireland.
All of the information below applies if the child is expected to enter Great Britain on or after 6 April 2024.
The employee must give you the following:
1. The date on which the adopter received the official notification (see above).
2. The date on which the child is expected to enter Great Britain (or, if that's already happened, the actual date).
3. A written declaration that:
4. Whether they want to take 1 or 2 weeks of paternity leave.
5. When they want the paternity leave to start.
6. A written declaration that they will use the time to care for the child and/or support the adopter.
Items 1, 2, 4 and 5 don't need to be provided in writing unless you specifically ask the employee to do so.
If the employee splits their paternity leave into 2 separate periods of 1 week and notifies you of each period separately, items 4-6 apply to both periods.
Deadlines for items 1-3 above
If the employee already has the necessary 26 weeks' continuous employment with you when the adopter receives the official notification, they must give you items 1-3 (above) within 28 days of the adopter receiving the official notification.
If the employee receives the official notification before they've reached 26 weeks' continuous employment, they can wait. They must then give you items 1-3 within 28 days after reaching the 26 weeks.
Deadlines for items 4-6 above
The employee must give you items 4-6 (above) at least 28 days before the date they've chosen for their paternity leave to start. If they chose the actual date of the child's entry into the UK as the start date, this means 28 days before the expected date of entry.
If notice is given late
If the employee misses the deadline for any of items 1-6 (above), you're not under any obligation to allow paternity leave, unless it was not reasonably practicable for the employee to meet the deadline.
If this is the case, the employee must still provide you with the notice as soon as it is reasonably practicable for them to do so.
Notice of placement
The employee must also tell you (in writing, if you ask for that) the actual date the child entered Great Britain (unless they've already done so as part of the above notice requirements).
They must tell you this with 28 days of the entry date.
Changing the start date of leave
The employee can change the date when they want their paternity leave to start (or cancel it) if they give you the correct amount of notice (which you can request they put in writing).
They must tell you at least 28 days before the date they originally gave you, or 28 days before the new start date (whichever is earlier).
For example, if in the last notice given to you they said they wanted to start their leave on 30 July:
The employee doesn't have to put the change in writing, unless you ask them to.
When the employee gives you notice of the change, they must also give you a written declaration that they'll use the amended period of leave to care for the child and/or support the adopter.
If it's not reasonably practicable for the employee to give you 28 days' notice, they can still change the date provided they give you notice as soon as it is reasonably practicable.
In a situation where the employee has chosen to begin their paternity leave on a specific date and the child does not then enter Great Britain by that date, they must change it. They must:
If the child doesn't enter Great Britain
Employees must tell you as soon as is reasonably practicable if they find out that the child will not be entering Great Britain.