Paternity Leave Request Letter

This document is a letter that can be used to notify an employer of an employee's intention to take Ordinary Paternity Leave, where they are eligible to do so. It fulfils the employee's duty to notify the employer of any intended paternity leave and requests that the employer responds with further information regarding pay. To be eligible for paternity leave, the sender of this letter must be one of the following:

• the father of the child;
• the husband or partner of the mother (or adopter) of the child;
• the child's adopter (i.e. the person adopting the child); or
• an independent parent (i.e. where the child will be born through a surrogacy arrangement)

This letter can be used where the parent to-be is adopting the child or where they are the child's biological parent. The document can be amended to reflect the date of the baby's expected arrival and the date upon which the person requesting maternity leave wants to begin their period of leave.

It is recommended that the employee who is applying for Ordinary Paternity Leave check any employment contract, employer policy or employee handbook they may have received from their employer in relation to any rights granted to them regarding paternity leave and pay.

How this letter should be used

This letter should be signed by the employee and sent to the employer that the employee is requesting paternity leave from. It should be sent at least 15 weeks before the expected birth or placement date. The employee can choose to send the relevant form SC3, form SC4 or form SC5 requesting paternity pay alongside this letter.

Form SC3 should be used where the sender is the birth parent of the child. Form SC4 should be used where the sender is adopting the child. Form SC5 should be used where the sender is adopting the child from abroad.

Once the letter has been received by an employer they should respond within 28 days confirming the start and end dates of the relevant paternity leave period.

Applicable law

Employment Rights Act 1996

The Employment Act 2002

Help from a lawyer

You can choose to consult a lawyer if you need help.

The lawyer can answer your questions or help you through the process. You will be offered this option when you complete the document.

How to modify the template

You fill out a form. The document is created before your eyes as you respond to the questions.

At the end, you receive it in Word and PDF formats. You can modify it and reuse it.