Paternity leave notification letter

The letter

[date]

Dear [who you are writing to],

Notification of paternity leave

I am writing to give notice that I intend to take statutory paternity leave.

The expected date of childbirth is [expected date of childbirth or placement].

I intend to take two weeks of leave, starting [when you want it to start].

I confirm that I am the child's father or the partner of the mother, and that I will be taking the leave to care for the child or to support the mother.

I understand I can change these dates by giving 28 days' notice.

Yours sincerely,

[your name]

Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere. Fill it in, take the text, close the page.

What happens next

Leave must be taken within 52 weeks of the birth or placement.
Leave is a day-one right; the pay requires 26 weeks of service by the fifteenth week before the due date.
The two weeks can be taken as one block or as two separate weeks.

This letter rests on Paternity and Adoption Leave Regulations 2002, regulation 6. It is a starting point, not legal advice — change anything that does not fit your situation.

Nathan Cole

I write the guides on HoursHQ and check every statutory figure against GOV.UK, Acas and the legislation itself before it goes live. Where the law is genuinely unclear, I say so rather than guessing.