Family leave · 5 min read

Paternity, shared parental, adoption, parental and carer's leave: the employer's guide

The family leave rights beyond maternity, after the 2024 and 2025 changes: paternity in two blocks, shared parental leave, adoption, unpaid parental leave, carer's leave, neonatal care leave, and time off for dependants.

Reviewed September 2026. Guidance, not legal advice: employment law moves, so check the current position before relying on any of it.

Maternity leave is well understood. The rest of the family leave family is not, and it has grown: paternity leave became more flexible in 2024, carer's leave arrived the same year, and neonatal care leave in 2025. Each has its own notice rules and its own pay position, and each is a day-one right to time off if not always to pay.

This guide gives the employer's view of each: who can take it, how much, notice, pay, and what you have to do. Statutory pay rates change every April and are not quoted.

Paternity leave

One or two weeks for the father, the mother's partner, or the adopter's partner, to be taken in one block or as two separate weeks, at any time within 52 weeks of the birth or placement (since 6 April 2024). Day-one right to the leave; Statutory Paternity Pay needs 26 weeks' service by the qualifying week and earnings at or above the lower earnings limit. Notice of entitlement by the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth; notice of the dates 28 days before each block. Pay is the flat weekly rate or 90% of earnings if lower, recoverable like SMP.

Shared parental leave

Allows the mother (or primary adopter) to end her maternity leave early and share up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay with her partner, taken in blocks, together or separately. Both must meet employment and earnings conditions, and the notice regime is detailed: a notice of entitlement and intention, then period of leave notices at least eight weeks before each block, up to three notices. Employers must accept a single continuous block; discontinuous blocks are subject to agreement. Take-up is low because it is complicated; when a request comes, work through the gov.uk employer guidance with the employee rather than from memory.

Adoption leave and pay

Mirrors maternity: 52 weeks' leave from day one for the primary adopter, 39 weeks' Statutory Adoption Pay with the same service and earnings conditions as SMP, the first six weeks at 90% of earnings. Notice within seven days of being matched with a child. The partner takes paternity leave. Fostering for adoption and surrogacy arrangements have their own routes into the same rights.

Unpaid parental leave

Up to 18 weeks per child, unpaid, to be taken before the child's 18th birthday, in blocks of a week (or single days for a disabled child), maximum four weeks a year per child unless you agree more. Twenty-one days' notice; you can postpone for up to six months where the business would be unduly disrupted, but not the leave taken immediately after birth or adoption. Since April 2024 it is a day-one right. The contract continues; the employee returns to the same job (or a suitable alternative after longer blocks).

Carer's leave

Since 6 April 2024, one week of unpaid leave a year to give or arrange care for a dependant with a long-term care need, taken as whole or half days, flexibly. Notice of twice the length of the leave (minimum three days); you can postpone once, for up to a month, with a written reason within seven days, but never refuse. No evidence can be required. Day-one right. Dismissal or detriment for taking it is automatically unfair.

Neonatal care leave and pay

From 6 April 2025, parents of a baby admitted to neonatal care within 28 days of birth for a continuous stay of seven days or more get up to 12 weeks' leave, on top of other family leave, to be taken within 68 weeks of birth. Day-one right to the leave; Statutory Neonatal Care Pay needs the usual 26 weeks' service and earnings conditions. Notice rules differ for leave taken while the baby is still in neonatal care (as soon as reasonably practicable) and afterwards (15 or 28 days depending on length).

Time off for dependants

Reasonable unpaid time off to deal with an emergency involving a dependant: a child taken ill, a care arrangement that breaks down, a death. Day-one right, no fixed limit, usually a day or two per incident. The employee tells you as soon as reasonably practicable. It is for dealing with the emergency, not for providing ongoing care; that is where carer's leave or parental leave take over.

Bereavement

Parental bereavement leave gives two weeks' leave, paid (Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay) after 26 weeks' service, to parents of a child who dies under 18 or is stillborn after 24 weeks, to be taken within 56 weeks. The Employment Rights Act 2025 extends a general right to bereavement leave; check the current position. Many employers simply give paid compassionate leave and record it; a policy saying how much removes the awkwardness of asking.

The checklist

  1. Family leave policy covering each right, with the notice rules stated plainly.
  2. Paternity: notice of entitlement recorded; two blocks allowed within 52 weeks; SPP eligibility checked.
  3. Shared parental leave: use the gov.uk employer forms; accept continuous blocks; respond in writing.
  4. Adoption: treat as maternity for planning and payroll.
  5. Carer's leave and parental leave: never refuse; postpone only in writing within the rules.
  6. Neonatal care leave added to payroll and policy since April 2025.
  7. Statutory pay recovered through the EPS.

What the law says

  • Paternity and Adoption Leave Regulations 2002, as amended by the Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024.
  • Shared Parental Leave Regulations 2014 and Statutory Shared Parental Pay (General) Regulations 2014.
  • Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999, Part III: parental leave.
  • Carer's Leave Act 2023 and Carer's Leave Regulations 2024.
  • Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 and the 2025 Regulations.
  • Employment Rights Act 1996 s.57A: time off for dependants; Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act 2018.

Questions people ask

Can I refuse paternity leave because we are busy?

No. It is a right, not a request. You can ask for the statutory notice and, if a block is given with less, the employee may have to move it; you cannot refuse it.

Do casual and zero-hours staff get family leave?

Leave rights (paternity, parental, carer's) belong to employees; genuine casuals may not be employees. Statutory pay follows earnings and service tests. Where a casual has worked regularly for months, assume they are an employee for these purposes and take advice if you want to argue otherwise.

What evidence can I ask for?

For paternity: a written declaration of entitlement; no birth certificate. For carer's leave: none. For adoption: the matching certificate. For neonatal care leave: a declaration. Asking for more than the regulations allow is itself a breach.

The admin this guide describes, done for you

Work-Lynx holds the records, calculates the entitlements, drafts the letters and reminds you of the dates: 49 UK policies, GPS clock-in, rotas, leave, timesheets, payslips and Employ AI for the questions in between. £2.50 a month plus £1 per employee, 14 days free, no card.

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