Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave: Changes for employers

What is Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave?

From 6 April 2026, eligible employees have a new day one right to take statutory Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave (or BPPL). Perhaps the word “Paternity” is misleading as this suggests leave is limited to two weeks. In fact, eligible employees could, potentially, take up to 52 weeks of unpaid leave. Let’s consider what this new statutory leave is, when might it apply and what should employers and HR teams do to prepare?

When might an employee take BPPL?

Hopefully, the need for BPPL will arise only rarely in your organisation. However, employers and HR teams need to be aware of this new statutory leave right (which is a day one employee right) and the implications it may have and the associated risks. In essence if a child’s “primary carer” were to die within 52 weeks of the child’s birth or placement for adoption, the child’s father or other parent would be eligible to take up to 52 weeks of unpaid leave.

Who is eligible to take BPPL?

An employee is eligible if their child’s “primary carer” dies on or after 6 April 2026 and within 52 weeks of the child’s birth or adoption placement. A child’s “primary carer” would be the child’s mother, or primary adopter, or in a surrogacy arrangement, the person named as the “primary parent” on a parental order.

To be eligible, the employee must be the child’s father or the primary carer’s spouse or partner, have the main responsibility for the child’s upbringing and be taking the leave to care for the child.

There is no service qualification required to qualify for the right, it is a day one employment right.

Can an eligible employee take up to 52 weeks off work?

Potentially yes. However, the leave must be taken within 52 weeks of the child's birth or adoption placement. For example, if a mother tragically dies when the baby is 28 weeks old, the father or partner would be able to take up to 24 weeks of statutory BPPL, not 52 weeks.

The 52-week rule is relaxed slightly if the primary carer dies less than 14 days before the child’s first birthday/date of adoption placement. In this scenario, the eligible parent would still be able to take 14 days of BPPL, even though this would technically take them beyond the 52 week eligibility cut-off point.

BPPL must be taken as one continuous block of leave.

Is BPPL paid?

No, BPPL is unpaid. However, an employee can claim their two weeks of statutory paternity pay if they have not already taken any “ordinary paternity leave”.

Does an employee need to give their employer notice if they wish to take BPPL?

Yes, they do although the amount of notice and what is required to be given will depend on how soon after the primary carer’s death the employees wishes to take BPPL.

As a guide, if the employee wishes to start their BPPL within 8 weeks of the primary carer’s death they must tell their employer (either orally or in writing) that their partner has died (and the date), the child’s date of birth (or date of adoption placement) and when they would like BPPL to start (which can be immediately). Although there is some informality at the start of the notification/leave process for obvious reasons, employees are required to notify their employer in writing of how long they intend to be absent and when they will return to work. Depending on how long after the bereavement they intend to return, they may also need to notify their employer in writing of the date of birth/adoption placement and of satisfying the other eligibility criteria (relationship to the child/primary carer and the purpose of the leave is to care for the child).

If instead, the employee chooses to take BPPL eight weeks or more following the primary carer’s passing, they must give their employer at least one week’s written notice confirming relevant dates, when they wish their BPPL to start, the amount of leave they intend to take, when they expect to return to work and confirm they meet the other eligibility criteria (relationship to the child/primary carer and the purpose of the leave is to care for the child).

What if the employee’s dates change?

Employees are able to change their mind as to when they want to take BPPL, or when they want to return to work; however, they need to give their employer notice. The necessary formality of this notice will depend on whether the employee is taking leave/returning from leave within 8 weeks of death or after 8 weeks. Also, an employee can cancel BPPL before it starts, but again they must give written notice to their employer.

What rights does an employee have on BPPL?

Employees on BPPL – or who have requested BPPL – have the right not to suffer a detriment or be dismissed because they have asserted their statutory right to take BPPL. Any dismissal in these circumstances would also be automatically unfair. Employees on BPPL can work up to 10 days as keeping in touch days (KIT days) without bringing their BPPL to an end. Their terms and conditions would also continue during BPPL, although not those relating to pay (BPPL is unpaid) and they would have the right to return to the same job (or, in limited circumstances to a suitable and appropriate alternative). They would also benefit from rights to be offered any suitable available vacancy in a redundancy situation for up to 18 months following birth/adoption, so something to consider and factor in here too. In the future, they may also benefit from additional protections against dismissal that may be introduced under the Employment Rights Act 2025 for those who are on or have recently returned from family leave.

Next steps

As we say, this is hopefully one type of leave or policy employers will rarely have to reach for. However, whilst there is the obvious need to act sensitively and compassionately, this leave could catch out the unwary manager who is ill-informed about the right not just to take the leave but also the added protections which surround it. Awareness is key. To find out more about BPPL as well as other family leave rights and changes introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025, please contact us.