{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-bereaved-partners-paternity-leave-regulations-2026/note",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-bereaved-partners-paternity-leave-regulations-2026/note.json",
  "legislation": "ukdsi/2026/9780348278446",
  "legislation_title": "The Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave Regulations 2026",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-bereaved-partners-paternity-leave-regulations-2026",
  "path": "note",
  "kind": "note",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Explanatory note",
  "text": "(This note is not part of the Regulations)\nThese Regulations introduce a new statutory entitlement for an employee to be absent from work to care for a child during the first year following the child’s birth, placement for adoption, or entry into Great Britain in connection with or for the purposes of an adoption from overseas, in the event that the child’s primary carer dies (“bereaved partner’s paternity leave”).\nPart 1 makes general provision.\nPart 2 makes provision in relation to an employee’s entitlement to bereaved partner’s paternity leave.\nRegulation 4 provides that an employee who is the father of a child whose mother has died, or who was the spouse, civil partner or partner of a child’s deceased primary carer, may take a period of bereaved partner’s paternity leave to care for the child.\nRegulation 5 makes provision as to when the employee may be absent from work on bereaved partner’s paternity leave.\nRegulation 6 provides for the notice requirements with which an employee must comply, in relation to starting the period of leave and returning to work following the period of leave.\nRegulation 7 provides that an employee may vary the leave start date of, or cancel, a period of bereaved partner’s paternity leave. It also makes provision for an employee to vary the date the employee intends to return to work following the period of bereaved partner’s paternity leave.\nRegulation 8 provides that the employer may postpone the employee’s return to work where the employee does not give the employer the required notice of the intended return date.\nRegulation 9 provides that an employee is entitled to be absent from work on bereaved partner’s paternity leave for up to eight weeks following the occurrence of a specified event that would otherwise make an employee ineligible for bereaved partner’s paternity leave.\nPart 3 makes provision in relation to employment protection.\nRegulation 10 provides for the continuance of an employee’s terms and conditions of employment during a period of bereaved partner’s paternity leave.\nRegulation 11 provides that an employee may work for up to ten days for the employer during a period of bereaved partner’s paternity leave without bringing that period of leave to an end.\nRegulations 12 and 13 provide for an employee’s right to return to work after a period of bereaved partner’s paternity leave.\nRegulation 14 makes provision in relation to protection from redundancy during a period of bereaved partner’s paternity leave and, where the period of bereaved partner’s paternity leave is six weeks or longer, for a period of time following that leave.\nRegulations 15 and 16 make provision in relation to protection from detriment and unfair dismissal attributable to an employee’s right to take bereaved partner’s paternity leave.\nRegulation 17 specifies how a week’s pay must be calculated.\nPart 4 (regulation 18) allows an employee to choose whether to take bereaved partner’s paternity leave or contractual leave.\nA full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary sector or community bodies is foreseen.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2026/9780348278446/note",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-30T14:38:09.100342+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}