Welcome to fatherhood — a lifelong commitment, a powerful social bond, and for many, the most rewarding role they’ll ever have. But, in the short term, welcome to a terrifying whirlwind of dirty nappies and days and nights that blend into endless hours. See also: Fathers urged to join world’s first 'Dad strike' in London Whether your partner is having a baby, you are adopting a child, or having a baby through a surrogacy arrangement, it is likely you are eligible to paternity pay and/or leave during this special time. Here is paternity leave explained. You can take either one or two weeks’ leave, which can be taken back-to-back or separately. Regardless of whether you have one baby, twins, triplets, or octuplets, the leave is the same. A week of leave is only equivalent to however many days you typically work in a week. For example, if you only work Mondays and Tuesdays, a week of leave would be two days. Your leave must also not start before the birth and must end within 52 weeks of the birth (or due date, if the baby is early). The rules for adoption are slightly different as paternity leave can start as early as the day of placement, the day the child arrives in the UK, or the date the child is born via surrogate. If you opt for shared parental leave, you cannot take paternity leave. It’s also worth remembering that you can take unpaid leave to accompany a pregnant woman to two antenatal appointments, which can be up to 6.5 hours each. The same applies for adoption appointments. If you choose to take paternity leave, you can rest assured that you have the right to return to your job. The statutory weekly rate of paternity pay is £187.18, or 90 per cent of your average weekly earnings (whichever is lower). Any money you receive will be treated the same as your wages, ie tax and national insurance will be deducted. The money will be paid during the time you are on leave. If your employer has its own paternity scheme, you could be paid more, but they cannot offer you less than the statutory amount. For instance, the multinational confectionery company Mars offers its employees 26 weeks of parental leave paid at 90 per cent of their salary. Those on paternity leave can take 52 weeks of leave overall, which means new fathers can take a whole year off, and be paid for half of it. You claim both leave and pay through your employer, but you might not be eligible for both. It is important to give your employer at least 15 weeks’ notice via an online form, which you can find at gov.uk. If your employer has their own form, you should use that instead. Note that the rules and forms are different if you’re adopting. The form will require you to include the due date, when you want your leave to start, and how much leave you want, but you do not need to provide proof of the pregnancy or birth. In order to claim paternity leave, you must be taking time off to look after your child and be one of the following: the father, the husband or partner of the mother (or adopter), which includes same-sex partners, the child’s adopter, or the intended parent (through surrogacy). You must also be an employee and have been continuously employed by your employer for at least 26 weeks up to any day in the ‘qualifying week’, which is the 15th week before the baby is due. To claim paternity pay, you must be employed by your employer up until the date of the baby’s birth, earn an average of £125 a week (before tax), have given the correct notice, and been continuously employed by your employer for at least 26 weeks up to any day in the ‘qualifying week’. If you’ve taken time off to attend adoption appointments, you will not be eligible for paternity pay. You can claim paternity pay if your child is born alive at any point during the pregnancy. Paternity leave and pay are still available to you if your baby is stillborn from 24 weeks of pregnancy. In this case, you may also be eligible for statutory bereavement pay and leave. Your employer must tell you within 28 days of your form being submitted if you do not qualify and explain why using a SPP1 form. If you’re an expectant father, you may count yourself lucky, as fathers before 2003 did not have a statutory right to paid paternity leave. While some employers did grant leave, there was no legal requirement. Courtesy of the Employment Act 2002, which took effect in 2003, fathers now have the right to two weeks of paid paternity leave.