Maternity, paternity and adoption rights

Mothers, fathers and partners, including same-sex partners and adoptive parents, have statutory rights to maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave. They may also be entitled to statutory pay for these periods of leave. Other important ‘family-friendly’ measures include unpaid parental leave, time off for emergencies involving dependants and the right to request flexible working. See our factsheets on flexible working and working hours and time off work. 

The information below mostly relates to statutory rights. Many employers offer more than these minimum rights in contractual maternity and parental leave policies and responding to flexible working requests. As well as enhancing minimum statutory leave and pay, employers can proactively provide flexible working arrangements and an inclusive, family-friendly working environment, rather than simply responding to individual requests. 

The UK legal position is governed by a combination of contractual rights and legislation. Legislation sets minimum standards that employers must comply with. Many employers voluntarily offer contractual rights including maternity, paternity, adoption and parental leave policies, which enhance the statutory minimum leave and pay entitlements. 

Most relevant UK legislation is in the Employment Rights Act 1996, the Employment Relations Act 1999, the Employment Act 2002, the Work and Families Act 2006, the Children and Families Act 2014 and the Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023 and the Employment Rights Act 2025.

Any unfavourable treatment of a woman because of her pregnancy, childbirth or maternity is likely to constitute pregnancy and maternity-related discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. CIPD members can consider more detail on these family rights in our Maternity, paternity, shared parental and adoption leave and pay Q&As and Requesting flexible working Q&As.

Flexible working

The statutory right to request flexible working allows eligible employees to apply for changes to their working arrangements such as requesting part-time or remote working. Employers can refuse requests based on specific legal grounds, such as increased costs or impact on customer demand. 

The right to request flexible working is a day one right, meaning employees can request adjustments to their working arrangements as soon as they start employment with a new employer. Employers must respond to flexible working requests within two months and employees can make two flexible working requests in any 12-month period.

Employers must not reject a flexible working request without having discussed it with the employee who has made the request and explored other options. Importantly, employees do not have to explain what they consider to be the potential impact on the employer or suggest ways these effects could be mitigated. 

The Employment Rights Act 2025 will make certain changes to the process an employer will need to follow to refuse a request for flexible working and strengthen the extent to which an employer must give reasons for a decision to refuse. 

Keep up to date with changes using our ERA 2025 tracker.

Neonatal leave

The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 gives employed parents whose babies need neonatal hospital care in their first 28 days of life for seven days or more, the right to take neonatal leave and pay for up to 12 weeks. For parents to qualify for this new right the baby must be born on or after 6 April 2025. Please see the law page for more information. You can also download our infographic to understand what you need to know about this new right. CIPD members can download a flowchart to assess if neonatal leave applies.

Redundancy protection 

Since 6 April 2024, the Maternity Leave, Adoption Leave and Shared Parental Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 extend redundancy protection to cover the entire pregnancy, and 18 months after the birth or placement of a child. This applies to those on maternity, adoption or shared parental leave (for six continuous weeks or more). 

Paternity leave

Paternity Leave is a day one right (following changes introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025 on 6 April 2026).

The Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 enable employees to take statutory paternity leave in one-week blocks at any point during the first year after the birth or adoption of babies born after 6 April 2024 and children expected to be placed for adoption on or after that date. 

Carer’s leave

Since 6 April 2024 the Carer's Leave Act 2023 has given unpaid carers of dependants the statutory right to take up to one week (five working days) of unpaid leave per year. This is a day one right and applies to employees with dependants who have a long-term care need such as physical or mental difficulties, disabilities, or issues related to old age.

Equality Act 2010

From the time a woman becomes pregnant, she is automatically protected against discrimination. This protection lasts from the start of the pregnancy until the end of the maternity leave and is known as the ‘protected period’ under the Equality Act 2010. If the woman has no statutory right to maternity leave or if she suffers a miscarriage or stillbirth before 24 weeks of pregnancy, the protected period will end two weeks after the date of childbirth or after the end of the pregnancy.

Antenatal care

Pregnant women are entitled to paid time off for antenatal and other medically recommended appointments. There is no fixed period of time that a woman is allowed to take - she is allowed to take 'reasonable' time off, including travelling and waiting time.

Qualifying fathers and partners can take unpaid time off to attend up to two of those appointments, lasting a maximum of 6.5 hours for each appointment. The employer can choose to pay the employee for this time, and allow more time to be taken, either paid or unpaid, or as holiday.  

Maternity leave

Key terms:

• Statutory Maternity Leave (SML): a woman can take 52 weeks of leave regardless of how long she has worked for an employer. 

• Shared Parental Leave (ShPL): the shared leave available to either or both parents in certain circumstances.

The earliest date maternity leave can start is the beginning of the eleventh week before the baby is expected. The woman must notify her employer with details of her expected date and when she chooses to start maternity leave no later than the 15th week before the week the baby is due. The employer must respond within 28 days, confirming the expected date of return after the maternity leave.

Employers should assume all 52 weeks’ leave will be taken unless notified to the contrary. A woman can curtail part of her SML to enable her partner to take ShPL. If a woman returns to work earlier than planned, she should give at least eight weeks’ notice of this, unless a shorter period is agreed.

Women have the right to return to the same job or a similar one if it's genuinely not reasonably practicable to return to the former job. 

Maternity pay

Mothers are entitled to up to 39 weeks' Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) if they meet certain eligibility requirements. They must:

• meet certain National Insurance contributions lower earnings limit requirements
• have 26 weeks' continuous service (assessed at the 15th week before the baby is due).

The first six weeks of SMP is paid at 90% of average weekly earnings and the remainder at the lower statutory level. Current rates can be found on our Statutory rates page or from GOV.UK.

Many organisations have more generous contractual terms for pay during the entire leave period. Women who do not qualify for SMP might qualify for Maternity Allowance (MA).

Other benefits during maternity leave

All contractual terms (such as holidays or benefits) apart from remuneration continue during SML. This means that paid holiday entitlement accrues during maternity leave. Pension arrangements are more complex. CIPD members can see more in our Q&As on maternity, paternity, shared parental and adoption leave and pay.

Other rights

Pregnant women are also entitled to other rights, including:

• Special protection in a redundancy situation. Pregnant women or those on maternity leave (or other statutory family leave) already have priority rights to a suitable alternative vacancy in a redundancy situation, from the point at which they notify the employer of their pregnancy until 18 months after the birth. 
• The right to request risk assessments during pregnancy.
• Rights to request alternative work to ensure that any risks to the expectant mother's or baby's health can be avoided.
• Full pay on maternity suspension if the woman has to stop work due to health and safety risks that can't be avoided by reasonable changes to working conditions.
• Protection from detriment, unfair treatment or dismissal because of the pregnancy, maternity leave, etc. For example, not allowing employees to return to work because of breastfeeding.
• Up to 10 ‘keeping in touch’ (KIT) days during maternity leave without losing any maternity pay if available. 

Paternity leave

Paternity leave is a day one right for all employees who meet the eligibility requirements: 

• The employee must be the baby’s biological father or the partner of the mother who has (or expects to have) responsibility for the baby’s upbringing.

The employee must give the employer at least 28 days' notice of their intention to take paternity leave, notifying: 

• the start date of the leave to be taken. 
• the week the baby is expected. 
• the duration of leave to be taken. 

Since 6 April 2024, the two weeks of statutory leave can be taken in two one-week blocks within the first 52 weeks following the child’s birth. 

See our Managing extended paternity leave report.

Even though paternity leave is a day one right, Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) depends on meeting a length of service requirement and certain lower earnings limit thresholds. The rate of SPP is the same as SMP. 

Rights during and after paternity leave

An employee who qualifies for paternity leave is entitled to:

• return to the same job.
• return to the same terms and conditions of employment.
• not be subjected to a disadvantage, unfair treatment or dismissal.

Bereaved partners' paternity leave

According to changes introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025, since 6 April 2026, employees whose partner dies in the first 52 weeks of their child's life can take bereaved partner's paternity leave for up to 52 weeks - depending on when the partner dies. This is a day one right, and is unpaid, although employers can choose to pay some or all of the leave if they wish to do so. See our Compassionate bereavement support guide for more information.

Shared parental leave (ShPL) enables employed mothers to switch part of their leave and pay into ShPL and pay, and share time off with their partner, provided both parents satisfy the eligibility requirements. The mother and partner must have worked for their employers continuously for at least 26 weeks up to the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth.

The mother can choose whether to give up her leave and the parents can choose how to share any ShPL, either taking it in turns or taking time off together. For any partner taking six continuous weeks of ShPL or more, extended redundancy protection applies. Eligibility, notification and variation procedures are complex but at least eight weeks’ notice must be given before the ShPL starts.

Unpaid parental leave is a different form of leave, giving qualifying employees up to 18 weeks for each child or adopted child up to their 18th birthday. 

Employed parents have the right to two weeks’ paid bereavement leave following the death of a child, paid at a set rate if the parent has 26 weeks’ service. 

Statutory adoption leave (SAL) and pay (SAP) are broadly in line with statutory maternity leave and pay, with up to 52 weeks' adoption leave available. Where an employee is adopting jointly and the other adopter is taking statutory adoption leave, the employee who is not taking SAL may qualify for statutory paternity leave and other family friendly rights.

Adoptive parents have the right to time off to attend adoption appointments after they have been notified that they have been matched with a child for adoption.

Parents on adoption leave have the right to be prioritised for redeployment offers in a redundancy situation, for 18 months after the child’s date of placement or date of entry into Great Britain.  

SAP is payable for 39 weeks and there's a qualifying service requirement of 26 weeks’ continuous employment up to a day in the week they were matched with a child for adoption.

Employers should:

• have maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental leave and work-life balance policies that at least reflect the statutory minimum rights. Employers may also offer occupational, enhanced, or contractual leave and pay which enhances the minimum entitlements.

• ensure that line managers understand how to implement the organisation’s maternity, paternity and parental leave policies, and when they should contact HR for support.

• monitor take up of stautory rights to ensure the needs of both the business and the individual are being met.

Parent returners

Employers must ensure employees are supported when they return to work after maternity, paternity or adoption leave, as a minimum, by providing that they continue to benefit from legal protections that they have. Employers also report a huge number of benefits by offering additional support to employees returning from periods of statutory leave, including:

• access to a wider talent pool of people with valuable experience and expertise.
• overcoming skills shortages, and the struggle to recruit or develop people with specific skills.
• supporting gender and age diversity at all levels, by helping to increase the number of experienced women across an organisation.
• creating role models for younger employees, this also includes fathers who have to combine work and family commitments.
• tackling the gender pay gap - the increased presence of women in senior roles is an important factor in closing the gender pay gap.
• enhancing internal and external reputation - being seen to encourage and support returners sends a clear message to your own employees and the market that you are a supportive employer. This will, in turn, help recruitment and retention.

Contacts

Acas – Maternity, paternity and adoption leave and pay

GOV.UK - Holidays, time off, sick leave, maternity and paternity leave

GOV.UK - Shared parental leave and pay

Equality and Human Rights Commission

Working Families

Books and reports

CIPD. (2022) Employer focus on working parents report. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

CIPD. (2020) Managing extended paternity leave. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. 

CIPD. (2025) People manager guide: family leave. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. (Member-only resource)

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Equality and Human Rights Commission. (2016) Pregnancy and maternity-related discrimination and disadvantage: final reports. London: BIS and EHRC.

House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee (2018) Fathers and the workplace. HC 358, Session 2017-19.

Journal articles

Allanach, O. (2024) How employers can stay ahead of the Paternity Leave Act. People Management (online). 17 September. 

Bashford, S. (2020) Can shared parental leave ever work? People Management (online). 23 April.

Brookes, K. (2023) Gender-neutral parental leave for a more inclusive workplace. People Management (online). 27 September. 

Clemmo, F. (2024) Hardly any dads have used shared parental leave since scheme was introduced 10 years ago, research finds. People Management (online). 11 December.

Jackson, I. (2024) ‘Not good enough’: paternity leave ‘significantly stalling’ gender equality, research suggests. People Management (online). 18 June. 

Burgess, H. (2025) Maternity protection in a redundancy situation. People Management (online). 7 January. 

Levington, M. (2022) Making maternity policies fit for purpose: how does employment impact maternal mental health? Reviewed in Bitesize. 18 February.

Mayne, M. (2024) New guidance on workplace maternity protections: an employer’s guide. People Management (online). 8 April. 

Merritt, C. (2024) Maternity dismissals: new Government proposals. People Management (online). 23 October. 

O’Connor, E. (2024) Why it’s time to shift the narrative on paternity leave. People Management (online). 15 October. 

Owen, S. (2022) Maternity rights: guidance for employers. People Management (online). 2 August. 

Wyborn, R. (2023) Navigating employees’ maternity leave. People Management (online). 24 July.

CIPD members can use our online journals to find articles from over 300 journal titles relevant to HR.

Members and People Management subscribers can see articles on the People Management website.