Overview

Comments made in the UK Parliament recently by Theresa May, Minister for Women and Equalities, suggest that regulations introduced by the Labour government to extend paternity leave for fathers could be postponed and, ultimately, rewritten by the coalition Government.

The Additional Paternity Leave Regulations 2010, which were made just three weeks before Parliament was dissolved for the general election, give fathers of babies due on or after 3 April 2011 the right to take up to 6 months' paternity leave (in addition to their existing two week entitlement). However, fathers will only be able to take additional paternity leave if the mother has returned to work, and even then not before the baby is 20 weeks old.

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