Parental, paternity leave: UK ends qualifying periods
From 6 April 2026, you will no longer need a minimum period in a job to qualify for parental leave or paternity leave. The change is delivered by regulations signed by Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Kate Dearden on 6 January 2026 and laid before Parliament on 12 January 2026, according to legislation.gov.uk. It applies in England, Wales and Scotland.
If you’re new in post and your child arrives after the rules start, you can ask for time off straight away. This change focuses on your right to take leave; separate rules still govern how much you are paid, and those pay rules may include earnings tests set elsewhere in law.
It helps to decode the terms. Parental leave is the unpaid entitlement under the Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999 that lets you take time to care for a child. Paternity leave arises under sections 80A and 80B of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and covers birth, adoption and parental order cases. The 2026 regulations switch off the old qualifying periods across these routes.
The timetable matters. Some parts begin earlier to let you give notice. From 18 February 2026, you and your employer can start using the new notice arrangements where your entitlement will begin on or after 6 April 2026. Think of this as a head‑start so plans are in place before April.
The law uses the phrase ‘expected week of birth’. That week starts at midnight between Saturday and Sunday. If your baby’s expected week begins on or after Sunday 5 April 2026, the new paternity rules apply even if the birth happens a little earlier than 6 April. This avoids edge cases for early arrivals.
There are cut‑offs to be fair to families already mid‑process. If a child is born before 6 April 2026, or is placed for adoption before that date, the new paternity provisions generally do not apply. For overseas adoptions, the old rules continue where the child enters Great Britain before 6 April 2026.
A short transition eases paperwork. For babies with an expected week between 5 April and 25 July 2026, one of the extra early‑notice steps for paternity leave is switched off. You still give your employer the main notices and declarations, but you do not need the additional step that would otherwise have applied during this handover period.
Adoption from overseas gets a clearer notice point. One key deadline is now tied to the day you receive the official notification from the authorities: you must act no later than 28 days after that date. Keep that letter safe and tell HR promptly.
The rules also address very difficult situations. Where the mother or the person with whom a child is (or is expected to be) placed for adoption dies, the bereaved partner’s access to paternity leave is secured under these changes. Certain bereavement provisions take effect earlier to make sure support is in place.
Shared parental leave used to block or limit paternity leave and pay in some combinations. That barrier is removed. You can take paternity leave after taking shared parental leave, and statutory paternity pay is no longer refused just because you previously received shared parental pay. Pay eligibility rules still apply, but that particular restriction is gone.
For you, the practical checklist is simple. Work out your key date: the expected week of birth, the placement date, or the official notification date. Tell your employer using their forms from 18 February if your leave will start on or after 6 April. Keep evidence documents ready. If in doubt, ask HR or your union to double‑check the timing.
For employers and schools with HR responsibilities, update policies now. Remove any line that says staff must complete a set number of weeks’ service before parental or paternity leave. Refresh notice forms for the April–July 2026 transition, brief line managers, and make sure systems don’t accidentally reject requests from new starters.
If you’re teaching citizenship or law, this is a neat case study. A Statutory Instrument is ‘made’ by the minister, ‘laid’ before Parliament, and then ‘comes into force’ on the dates set out. According to the government’s note, no separate impact assessment was produced for this instrument because no significant additional cost is expected; the wider Employment Rights Bill (introduced 10 October 2024) included assessments. The main lesson: technical phrases like ‘qualifying period’ can dramatically shape who is included. Also note: these changes extend to England, Wales and Scotland; Northern Ireland sets its own employment law.