New employment rights for partners
1st October 2014
From 1 October, an expectant father or the partner (including a same sex partner) of a pregnant woman will be entitled to take unpaid time off work to accompany the woman to up to two of her ante-natal appointments.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has issued guidance entitled “Time off to accompany a pregnant woman to ante-natal appointments. Employer guide” (September 2014).
From 1 October 2014, an expectant father or the partner (including same sex) of a pregnant woman will be entitled to take unpaid time off work to accompany the woman to up to two of her ante-natal appointments. This right was introduced by the Children and Families Act 2014.
This guidance looks at
- who is entitled to time off
- how much time off can be taken
- who has the right if the woman’s husband is not the father of the child (the answer is ‘both’)
- what rights a father has if he is expecting a baby with two different women
- evidence the father will need to provide
- what happens if the employer refuses time off
- victimisation for asserting the right to attend appointments.
The guidance is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/351413/bis-14-1063-time-off-to-accompany-a-pregnant-woman-to-ante-natal-appointments-employer-guide.pdf