2. Rights during the leave
Anyone taking bereaved partner's paternity leave has certain legal rights.
Important: This is a new type of leave. It applies from 6 April 2026.
Protection from dismissal
An employee cannot be dismissed because they:
- are taking, or have taken, bereaved partner's paternity leave
- are planning to take bereaved partner's paternity leave
Protection from detriment
An employer must not cause an employee 'detriment' for taking bereaved partner's paternity leave, or planning to take it.
Detriment means someone experiences one or both of the following:
- being treated worse than before
- having their situation made worse
Examples of detriment could be:
- they experience bullying
- they experience harassment
- the employer turns down their training requests without good reason
- they are overlooked for promotions or development opportunities
- their employer reduces their hours without good reason
Protection from redundancy
An employee's role is protected while they are on bereaved partner's paternity leave. A role cannot be selected for redundancy for the sole reason that someone:
- is taking, or has taken, bereaved partner's paternity leave
- plans to take this leave
Someone taking this leave also has additional protection in a redundancy situation. This means that their employer must offer them a suitable alternative vacancy, if there is one.
Find out more about redundancy protection for pregnancy and new parents
Holiday
An employee still accrues (builds up) their usual holiday entitlement when they're on bereaved partner's paternity leave. This includes bank holidays.
They cannot take holiday or get holiday pay while on bereaved partner's paternity leave. But they can arrange with their employer to take it before or after.
By law, an employer must allow someone to take their statutory holiday entitlement during the holiday year.
Someone might not be able to use all their holiday. For example if they're on bereaved partner's paternity leave for all or most of the year. Their employer must allow them to carry it over.
The employee and employer should talk about this. They should agree:
- how and when to take holiday entitlement – including any accrued while on bereaved partner's paternity leave
- how much they can carry over, if appropriate
Find out more about holiday entitlement
The right to return to work
An employee on bereaved partner's paternity leave has the right to return to the same job or a suitable alternative.
Find out more about returning to work
Dealing with a problem
If someone believes they're not getting what they're entitled to, they can raise this with their employer. It's usually best to raise the problem informally first. They can do this by talking with their employer.
If they've already tried to resolve things formally, they can raise a grievance. This is where they make a formal complaint to their employer.
If the problem is still not resolved, they could make a claim to an employment tribunal.
Contact the Acas helpline
If you have any questions about bereaved partner's paternity leave, you can contact the Acas helpline.