Draft Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave Regulations 2026 Draft Employment Rights Act 1996 (Application of Section 80B to Adoptions from Overseas) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 Draft Employment Rights Act 1996 (Application of Section 80B to Parental Order Cases) (Amendment) Regulations 2026

Kate Dearden Excerpts

Monday 9th February 2026 General Committees

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Kate Dearden)]

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave Regulations 2026.

[The Chair]

With this it will be convenient to consider the draft Employment Rights Act 1996 (Application of Section 80B to Adoptions from Overseas) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 and the draft Employment Rights Act 1996 (Application of Section 80B to Parental Order Cases) (Amendment) Regulations 2026.

[Kate Dearden]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Desmond.

The regulations were laid before the House on 13 January. First, I express my appreciation for my hon. Friend the Member for Bridgend (Chris Elmore) and to Darren Henry, the previous Member for Broxtowe, who were both instrumental in bringing forward this new entitlement. I also pay special tribute to Dr Aaron Horsey, who joins us in the Public Gallery today. He campaigned tirelessly on behalf of bereaved fathers after the tragic loss of his wife Bernadette shortly after the birth of their son Tim.

The Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act 2024 established a new statutory entitlement to bereaved partner’s paternity leave of up to 52 weeks for employed fathers and partners if the mother or primary adopter dies in the first year of a child’s life or adoption. The draft Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave Regulations 2026 outline the details of the entitlement. The two further sets of regulations ensure that those who have a baby through international adoption or surrogacy arrangements are in scope for leave.

Currently, fathers and partners in this tragic circumstance who do not qualify for paternity leave or shared parental leave must rely on the compassion of their employers to take adequate time off work to care for their child. Thankfully, the number of people who find themselves in this situation is low, but of course every death and story is devastating. We anticipate that the entitlement will help around 90 bereaved partners per year.

Bereaved partner’s paternity leave is a day one right, meaning there is no continuity-of-service requirement. Bereaved fathers and partners will be able to start taking leave from the day after the mother’s or primary adopter’s death. The leave must end on their child’s first birthday or the first anniversary of the adoption, unless it is necessary to go beyond this date to ensure that an employee is entitled to at least two weeks of leave.

To be eligible, the bereaved partner must be an employee; they must be the child’s father, or the mother or adopter’s spouse, civil partner or partner at the time of the mother or adopter’s death; and they must have the main responsibility for the child’s upbringing and be taking leave for the purpose of caring for the child. Together, the regulations ensure that employees who lose their partner in the time surrounding childbirth or adoption will have access to a guaranteed period of leave to care for a new child.

To start the leave in the first eight weeks after the partner’s death, a bereaved partner can give notice informally at any time before they are due to start work on their first day of absence. This could be by text message or phone call to their employer. To take more than eight weeks after their partner dies, an employee must give one week’s notice in writing.

The Government have assessed the impact of bereaved partner’s paternity leave on businesses and found it to be minimal. We estimate an annual cost of approximately £0.9 million to businesses, mainly from re-organising work during employee absence.

I am very proud to commend the regulations to the Committee. I thank everyone who has been involved in campaigning on this issue for a number of years and worked closely with us and the Department to shape this legislation.