Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave

Check the date, relationship and caring role

An eligible employee in England, Scotland or Wales does not need minimum service for Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave. The right applies where the child's mother, main adopter or main intended parent dies on or after 6 April 2026. The child must be under one, or have been in the employee's care for less than one year. The employee must have the main caring responsibility and take the leave to care for the child.

The right can cover the child's father or the spouse or partner of the mother, adopter or intended parent. A surrogacy case also needs the parental-order condition. The GOV.UK eligibility guide gives the exact routes.

Set the available period from the real dates

Leave can start the day after the death and is taken in one continuous block. It can potentially last until 52 weeks after the birth, placement or arrival anniversary, so the available amount depends on when the death occurs. If the death is fewer than 14 days before that first anniversary, only up to two weeks are available and the leave must finish within 14 days of the death.

The leave can sit before or after other statutory parental leave. If the child later dies while the employee is on it, a shorter end rule applies and Parental Bereavement Leave may then be available. Use the current entitlement guide rather than assuming a fixed 52-week allowance.

Keep notice compassionate

Notice is deliberately lighter during the first eight weeks after the death, then becomes more structured. An employer cannot demand a death certificate or other evidence of entitlement. Ask only for the information needed to identify the employee's relationship, caring responsibility and dates.

Confirm the leave and any contractual pay calmly in writing. This right currently applies only in Great Britain; do not extend it to Northern Ireland without a current local statutory source.