Bereaved partner’s paternity leave – new right from April 2026

The Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave Regulations 2026 were laid before Parliament in January 2026 and are intended to come into force on 6 April 2026 (subject to parliamentary approval).

The right to bereaved partner’s paternity leave applies on the death of a partner who is the primary carer for the child, either during the first 52 weeks after the child’s birth, or the first 52 weeks after their placement in cases of adoption or entry into Great Britain in connection with or for the purposes of an adoption from overseas.

No statutory right to be paid

There is no statutory right to be paid for bereaved partner’s paternity leave. Schools may choose to make some or all of the period paid. Eligible employees may still claim their two weeks’ statutory paternity pay during a period of bereaved partner’s paternity leave if they have not already received it.

Relationship conditions

• The employee must have the main responsibility for the upbringing of the child. In addition, the employee must satisfy the relationship conditions as set out below:
• In a birth case, the employee is the child’s father, or the spouse, civil partner or partner of the child’s mother immediately before the death of the child’s mother.
• In a UK adoption case, the employee is the spouse, civil partner or partner of the child’s adopter, either on the date the child was placed for adoption or immediately before the death of the child’s adopter.
• In an overseas adoption case, the employee is the spouse, civil partner or partner of the child’s adopter, either on the date on which the child’s adopter received the official notification or immediately before the death of the child’s adopter.
• In a parental order case, the employee is the spouse, civil partner or partner of the primary parental order parent, either on the date on which the child was born or immediately before the death of the child’s primary parental order parent.

Notice requirements

The regulations set out notice requirements depending on whether leave is to be taken on very short notice, or to start more than eight weeks after the bereavement.

KIT days

An employee may carry out up to ten days’ keeping in touch (KIT) days during the period of bereaved partner’s paternity leave.

Wider support

Wider support to employees may also be provided through a compassionate leave policy and the statutory rights to take unpaid time off for dependants, parental bereavement leave and neonatal care leave.

Need help with your HR?

Our support means you can focus on education, while we take care of your organisation’s HR needs.

Our Core membership service provides school leaders with immediate, unlimited access to expert advice on employment matters. Get in touch about how we can help you.

The maternity, paternity, adoption section of our CEFMi website contains model policies, information and model forms and letters, including a ‘Bereaved partner’s paternity leave’ policy. Get a free trial of CEFMi – a comprehensive resource for school managers containing over 7,000 pages of text, including over 170 policies written specifically for schools.