According to the new laws, if a child is born today or after, its' parents will be entitled to share 52 weeks of paternity leave with 39 weeks pay.
According to the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, over a quarter of a million working couples will be entitled to make use of the new regulations and can seek time off simultaneously or separately depending on their preference.
While it is possible to request leave in discontinuous blocks, they employer has the right to refuse to this request.
Those eligible for Statutory Shared Parental Leave must meet certain criteria in order to make use of the new regulations.
These regulations insist that one parent must be an employee who has worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks at the end of the 15th week before the child is delivered, while the other parent is obliged to have worked for 26 weeks for the same employer in the 66 weeks leading up to the arrival of the infant.
