By law, your employee must tell you the following information no later than 15 weeks before the date the baby is due:

• that they're expecting a child
• how much paternity leave they plan to take – by law they can take up to 2 weeks
• the date they want to start their leave

Your employee may have a good reason to not give this information within the 15-week notice period. For example, they may not know their partner is pregnant until late in the pregnancy. In these cases they must give you the information as soon as they can.

How you must respond

If your employee is asking for paternity pay, you must respond in writing. 

If they’re not asking for paternity pay, you do not have to respond in writing. But it's still a good idea to confirm in writing that you've received the date and length of their leave.