BEREAVED PARTNER’S PATERNITY LEAVE
What Employers Need to Know
The UK’s parental leave landscape is about to change significantly. With the Employment Rights Act 2025 already removing qualifying periods for parental and paternity leave from April 2026, employers must now prepare for a further reform: the draft Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave Regulations 2026 (BPPL Regulations).
Expected to take effect on 6 April 2026, these introduce a new right to extended paternity leave for employees whose partner or spouse (the child’s primary carer) dies in childbirth or within the first year (including adoptions).
While compassionate in purpose, these reforms also create new operational and compliance obligations for employers, who should now be updating policies, manager guidance and internal processes.
A New Statutory Leave Category: BPPL
It is proposed that BPPL will offer up to 52 weeks of leave for bereaved fathers or partners where the primary carer dies. There is no qualifying period proposed, meaning that even very recent recruits may qualify. Leave can begin immediately in the first eight weeks following the bereavement—potentially with extremely short notice.
Of course, it is important to note that the BPPL regulations are still subject to approval although it is expected that, if approved, these will apply to bereavements after 6 April 2026.
Wider Day‑One Rights: Context for Employers
Running alongside BPPL are the broader Employment Rights Act 2025 reforms. Some of the headlines in this space are that from 6 April 2026:
Parental leave becomes a day‑one right.
Paternity leave loses its 26‑week qualifying period.
Employees may take paternity leave even after shared parental leave—closing off a common area of misunderstanding.
For employers, this means:
A significant increase in eligibility across the workforce.
Greater unpredictability around staffing levels and cover.
A need to refresh handbooks, onboarding materials, manager training and scripts ahead of April 2026.
The Government estimates that 1.5 million additional employees will gain immediate access to parental leave. While this increases administrative burden, the Government says that the longer‑term benefits include reduced stress (and in turn, fewer absences), improved retention and fewer presenteeism‑driven performance issues.
A Growing Emphasis on Paternal Responsibility
The BPPL Regulations reflect a policy trend: strengthening men’s role in caregiving.
While the UK’s system remains less generous than its Scandinavian counterparts—who operate “use‑it‑or‑lose‑it” quotas for fathers and offer high levels of paid leave—the UK is slowly moving towards greater gender balance and removing some of the burden on mothers as typically being the primary caregivers.
Scandinavian models demonstrate that when fathers take significant leave:
Child developmental outcomes improve.
Mothers’ employment retention increases.
Gender‑based workplace inequality narrows.
The UK is not yet at that stage, but BPPL is a major symbolic and practical shift, placing legal responsibility on employers to support fathers and partners during critical family events.
What employers need to prepare for:
Immediate leave requests: Employees may start BPPL on the day of notification. HR teams must ensure processes can accommodate rapid decision‑making.
No eligibility based on service: Payroll and HRIS systems must be reconfigured so that length of service does not prevent access.
Record‑keeping: Employers will need clear systems to capture the bereavement date, notice given, declarations of eligibility and any changes to planned leave.
Job protection obligations: BPPL is proposed to carry the same return‑to‑work protections as maternity and adoption leave. Managers must be trained to avoid inadvertently triggering detriment or dismissal risks.
Although BPPL does not include statutory pay, employers offering enhanced contractual family leave may come under pressure to consider parallel enhancements.
What do Employers Need to Do Now?
With April 2026 approaching, employers should now consider:
Having a BPPL policy ready to go;
Training managers on handling sensitive leave requests and compliance obligations.
Reviewing HR systems for absence recording, payroll configurations and eligibility checks.
Considering contractual enhancements, particularly for lower‑income employees for whom unpaid leave may be inaccessible.
The BPPL Regulations mark a compassionate and progressive change—one that strengthens family stability and paternal caregiving. However, for employers, it marks a further area where the focus must now be on readiness, sensitivity, and compliance.
If you need help updating your businesses documents in light of the above changes or the changes more generally as we approach April 2026 please get in touch with our team who will be happy to discuss your requirements.
