Purpose
This procedure sets out how to acknowledge and confirm an employee’s paternity leave notice. It provides a formal written record of booked leave blocks, pay terms, expected return dates, and administrative steps for management, payroll, and the employee.
Working through related paperwork at the same time? See also our Maternity Leave Confirmation Letter, Offer Letter and Paternity Leave Policy.
Scope
This procedure applies to all managers, payroll personnel, and the [Role] responsible for processing family leave requests within [Organisation Name].
Verification Requirements
Before issuing a confirmation letter, [Role] must complete the following checks:
- Verify the employee’s eligibility against statutory rules, including relationship to the child, length of service, and earnings thresholds.
- Confirm payroll has checked whether statutory paternity pay or enhanced contractual pay applies.
- Verify notice was submitted within statutory deadlines for both the expected week of childbirth or placement and the specific leave dates.
- Ensure requested dates consist of full weeks and meet statutory block-splitting rules and timeframes.
- Decide whether to accept or adjust leave dates if notice was provided past statutory deadlines without a reasonable excuse.
- Confirm that if an employee is ineligible for statutory paternity pay, official non-payment documentation (such as form SPP1) is issued within statutory time limits instead of a confirmation letter.
Procedure
- Receive written or verbal notice of paternity leave from the employee.
- Check eligibility and requested dates against statutory guidance and internal policy.
- Confirm pay entitlements (statutory or enhanced contractual rate) with payroll.
- Fill out the Paternity Leave Confirmation Letter template, removing unselected options.
- Send the confirmation letter to the employee within [Number] days of receiving notice.
- Provide copies of the confirmed letter to payroll and the direct manager on the date of issuance.
- Record the expected return date in the scheduling system and set a reminder for a return-to-work check-in.
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Handling Schedule Changes
- Receive notice from the employee about a changed childbirth or placement date, or a request to adjust booked leave blocks.
- Check that requests to change booked weeks meet required notice periods, unless [Organisation Name] approves a shorter period.
- Update the leave dates in the standard letter template.
- Send the updated confirmation letter to the employee.
- Send updated copies to payroll and the direct manager on the same day to keep records aligned.
Paternity Leave Confirmation Letter Template
[Date]
Dear [Employee Name],
Confirmation of Paternity Leave
Thank you for your notice provided on [Date of Notice] regarding your intention to take paternity leave for the birth or placement of your child, expected in [Expected Week of Childbirth / Expected Placement Date]. This letter confirms your leave arrangements.
Your paternity leave is booked as follows:
- Block 1: From [Start Date] to [End Date]
- Block 2 (if applicable): From [Start Date] to [End Date]
We have verified these dates against statutory rules for whole-week leave blocks and eligible timeframes.
During your leave, you will receive [Statutory paternity pay at the current government rate / Enhanced paternity pay under [Organisation Name] policy terms: [Amount and Conditions]], paid through payroll on your regular pay dates.
Your employment terms and conditions continue as normal during this period, except for remuneration. You will continue to accrue annual leave. Taking paternity leave will not affect your pay, progression, or performance assessments. Your expected return-to-work date is [Date].
If the birth or placement date changes, or if you want to adjust a booked week, please tell [Role] as soon as possible. Changing booked dates requires statutory notice. If the birth or placement date changes unexpectedly, we will re-confirm your dates in writing. If you plan to take shared parental leave, contact [Role] before booking additional leave to review scheme rules.
If any detail in this letter is incorrect, contact [Role] at [Contact Details] immediately so we can update our records before your leave starts.
Yours sincerely,
[Name] [Job Title] [Organisation Name]
Record Keeping
- Complete and issue the written letter via [Email / Post] within [Number] days of receiving notice.
- Store the leave notice, relevant declarations, and all issued versions of the confirmation letter in [System / Location].
- Retain payroll records and statutory pay documentation for the full retention period required by law.
FAQs on Paternity Leave Confirmation Letter
What is a paternity leave confirmation letter?
A paternity leave confirmation letter sets out how to acknowledge and confirm an employee’s paternity leave notice. It provides a formal written record of booked leave blocks, pay terms, expected return dates, and administrative steps for management, payroll, and the employee.
Having it written down means the same rules apply to everyone, so managers are not making judgement calls case by case under pressure.
What does a paternity leave confirmation letter include?
This template covers verification requirements, procedure, handling schedule changes and paternity leave confirmation letter template.
Every section is written to be filled in. The bracketed placeholders mark the decisions that are yours to make, such as timescales, approval owners and retention periods.
How to use a paternity leave confirmation letter with Whale
Copy this template into Whale and work through the bracketed placeholders so it reflects how your organisation actually operates.
Assign it to the teams it applies to so it sits where people work rather than in a shared drive, and set a review date so it gets revisited on schedule instead of quietly going out of date.
Use our templates to fast-track your documentation
Customize this template and 100s of others for free in Whale, the fastest way to get your team aligned.
