Paternity leave

Q: A member has just been told by his employer that if he takes paternity leave he will be "looking for another job." What are his rights?

A: An employee has the right not to be subjected to a detriment on the grounds that he has taken or has sought to take paternity leave under section 47C of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA) (as amended by the Employment Act 2002). A "detriment" is an act or failure to act by the employer, and case law has established that it can consist of a wide range of unfair treatment.

If the employer dismisses your member on those grounds, his dismissal will be automatically unfair under section 99 of the ERA. The normal one-year qualifying service does not apply to dismissals on these grounds - the employee needs only to have been continuously employed for one month.

In either case, your member will need to be able to show that the detriment or dismissal was the result of his seeking to take paternity leave.