I have no knowledge of local government or schools but as no one has responded so far I thought I'd give you my opinion.

My understanding of STATUTORY paternity leave is the the person must take either one or two weeks and if they choose to take two weeks then it must be two consecutive weeks. I would say that if the parent decides to take 2 weeks paternity leave then he is on paternity leave for those two weeks and he would then be entitled to take the holidays at a later date.

In reply to Fiona:

They can't take holidays at a later date as they're fixed date holidays due to being school staff.

I can't answer the question I'm afraid as I'm not experienced within schools and I know that maternity arrangements can often be different to the 'norm', but presumably the taking of paternity leave within 8 weeks of the birth of the baby still stands so in theory they could take the holiday and then take paternity leave?

Hi Andrea,

As you know, term time employes are different to whole time employee's who have 'holiday entitlements'. You can't swap and change school holidays and we wouldn't generally give back in lieu however, this is ultimatley your decision.

So as the 2 weeks paternity pay needs to be consecutive you could advise the father to only take 1 week (at full pay) then have the half term with normal pay, not receiving the lower statutory paternity pay in the second week. Or take his 2 weeks leave following the half term holiday (which will give him a nice 3 week break) but it may be too late for that?

I suppose it depends how generous you are feeling - i dont think there is a right and wrong answer here other than the obvious statutory obligations.

I would agree that the two weeks would run from the start of the paternity leave regardless of the school holiday periods however unlike maternity leave, paternity leave doesn't have to start the day the baby is born.

In schools the employee would usually start their paternity leave after the holiday thus ensuring that they do not use the paternity leave when the school is closed.

The employee may need to weigh up whether they would rather attend work for a couple of days and then get a full three weeks off, or take the time immediately when the baby is born but return to work after 14 days. This is only an issue where the intended paternity leave overlaps a school holiday.

It may be a case of custom and practice if the local authority are advising on this. Probably worth asking them to point out the evidence as this may inevitably set a precedence for future occasions.

There would be no reclaim in terms of holidays. Teachers are entitled to the statutory 28 days’ holiday per year and these must be taken when the school is closed. Any statutory holiday not taken during the previous year will be carried forward and taken during school closures the following year.

Please also bear in mind that although teachers are contracted for 195 days a year, they are in fact paid all year despite being only entitled to 28 days holiday - so although the half term may be used as paternity leave it does not impact their holiday entitlement as they can reallocate their holiday to any of the school holidays to accrue the full 28 days.

As Claire has mentioned, it comes down to whether they wish for the half term to be included in paternity leave or not.