Paternity Leave fit for a Prince

Following the excitement around the birth of baby George earlier this week, some may have overlooked the fact that Prince William is now entitled to claim paternity leave and receive the princely sum of £136.78 a week.

William will be the first member of the Royal Family to take advantage of statutory paternity leave which was introduced in the UK in 2003.

Theresa Mimnagh, Associate Director at Lawspeed said: “As an employee of the RAF for more than 26 weeks, the Prince is eligible to take two weeks paternity leave, either two weeks together or two single week blocks. All paternity leave must be taken within eight weeks of the new birth.

“This will probably be at the statutory rate of £136.78 per week, unless the RAF has agreed to pay more.  Two weeks at that rate of pay is the minimum statutory entitlement and is largely recoverable by the RAF as an offset against National Insurance Contributions (NICs). It is up to an employer if they wish to pay a higher rate or allow extra time off.

“William will also be entitled to return to the same job and be protected from being dismissed or subject to any detriment as a result of taking the leave.

“If he were to choose to do so, William could also take an additional 26 weeks paternity leave if Kate were to decide that child care was not for her and that she would like to return to paid employment – I’m not sure this is likely though!”

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