Paternity Leave Documents (Adoption)
This set of Paternity Leave Documents (Adoption) contains a paternity leave policy for adoption within Great Britain, as well as a Paternity Leave Request Form (Adopted Child).
The Paternity Leave Policy (Adoption within Great Britain) sets out the rights of an employee to take ordinary paternity leave and shared parental leave in respect of the adoption of a child within Great Britain.
Our Paternity Leave Request Form (Adopted Child) can be used in order to give employees the means to request paternity leave and pay in respect of a child adopted from within the UK.
See also the separate Shared Parental Leave subfolder.
There are different procedural requirements when adopting from overseas and when adopting from within Great Britain, so it is important that the correct documentation is used.
Paternity Leave Documents (Adoption) is part of Employment. Just £38.50 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Employment for 1 year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which paternity leave policy should I use when we are adopting a child from another country rather than within the UK?
The Paternity Leave Policy (Adoption within Great Britain) in this sub-folder is not designed for adoptions from overseas. The procedural requirements differ because an overseas adoption is triggered by official notification and the child's entry into Great Britain, not by a UK matching week. The notice rules, qualifying period calculation and the point at which leave can start all differ between the two routes, so using the wrong policy creates a compliance risk.
My employee has been matched with a child for adoption within the UK. What form do they use to request paternity leave and pay?
They should complete the Paternity Leave Request Form (Adopted Child) in this sub-folder, which is designed for children adopted from within the UK. The employee must give notice within seven days of being notified of the match. For statutory paternity pay, the employee must also confirm in writing that they are not claiming statutory adoption pay. Proof of adoption such as a letter from the adoption agency or a matching certificate must be provided to support a pay claim.
From 6 April 2026 paternity leave became a day-one right. Do I need to update my adoption paternity leave policy to reflect this?
Yes, but only for placements on or after 6 April 2026. From 6 April 2026 the 26-week continuous service requirement for paternity leave was removed under the Employment Rights Act 2025, so any policy that still refers to a qualifying service period for the leave itself is out of date. For adoption, the day-one leave right applies only where the child is placed for adoption on or after 6 April 2026 or, for overseas adoption, where the child enters Great Britain on or after 6 April 2026, so it does not cover earlier placements or entries. Importantly, the 26-week service requirement for statutory paternity pay remains unchanged, so the policy must distinguish between the right to leave (day one) and the right to pay (still subject to service and earnings conditions). Simply-Docs provides an updated policy covering these changes for adoption within Great Britain.
An employee does not qualify for statutory paternity leave in connection with an adopted child. What letter should I send them?
Since 6 April 2026 there is no minimum service requirement for statutory paternity leave where the child is placed for adoption on or after that date, so an employee should not be refused paternity leave for lack of service. Statutory paternity pay still has service and earnings conditions. If the employee's average weekly earnings are below the lower earnings limit, use the Letter Notifying an Employee of Ineligibility for Statutory Paternity Pay, which is included in this sub-folder.
What is the difference between statutory paternity leave entitlement and statutory paternity pay eligibility for an adopting employee, and why does it matter for my policy?
Since 6 April 2026 an employee has the right to take up to two weeks of statutory paternity leave from their first day of employment, with no service requirement for the leave itself. However, to receive statutory paternity pay the employee must still have been continuously employed for at least 26 weeks by the relevant qualifying date (the matching week for a UK adoption or the equivalent date for an overseas adoption) and must earn at least the lower earnings limit. An employee can therefore be entitled to the leave but receive no pay during it. A well-drafted policy must reflect both conditions separately, and the Simply-Docs Paternity Leave Policy (Adoption within Great Britain) covers this distinction.
Can the partner of an adopter take paternity leave and then also take shared parental leave for the same child?
Yes. An eligible employee can take paternity leave and subsequently take shared parental leave for the same child, and this order has always been allowed. What the Employment Rights Act 2025 changed is the reverse order: it removed the previous rule that taking shared parental leave extinguished the right to paternity leave. For adoption cases, that change applies where the child is placed for adoption on or after 6 April 2026 or, for adoption from overseas, where the child enters Great Britain on or after 6 April 2026. Both entitlements remain subject to their own eligibility conditions. The Simply-Docs Shared Parental Leave sub-folder contains separate templates for shared parental leave in adoption cases.