Time off for prospective fathers to attend ante-natal appointments

Except for Northern Ireland, from 1 October 2014, prospective fathers of children who are expected to be born on or after 5 April 2015 will have the right to take time off to accompany the mother on up to two ante-natal appointments.

The right will be limited to those who have or expect to have responsibility for the upbringing of the child and who are either the biological father of the child or are married to or are the partner of the child’s mother. The time off will be without pay and will be for a maximum of six and a half hours for each appointment.

As reported previously, Northern Ireland is expected to introduce ‘family friendly’ rules parallel to Great Britain’s from 5 April 2015.