Additional Statutory Paternity Leave (ASPL)


Additional Statutory Paternity Leave (ASPL) applies to parents of children due to be born or matched for adoption on or after 3rd April 2011.  Eligible employees can apply for ASPL if they:

  1. meet the criteria for Ordinary Statutory Paternity Leave as detailed in Section 3, and;
  2. have at leave 26 weeks continuous service by the 15th week prior to the expected week childbirth/adoptive placement, and;
  3. are still employed by NES, or within the NHS, at the time when the Additional Statutory Paternity Leave is taken.

Eligible employees can take up to 26 weeks of Additional Statutory Paternity Leave (ASPL). This is in addition to the two weeks of OSPL which must be completed within the 8 weeks following birth/adoptive placement.ASPL can commence no earlier than 20 weeks after the birth or placement of the child, and must be completed by the time of the child’s first birthday, or 52 weeks after the adoptive placement.

The right to take ASPL can only be exercised if the child’s mother/adopter is employed and returns to work without exhausting her entitlement to the maximum of 52 weeks maternity/adoption leave.ASPL can only be taken in multiples of complete weeks and must be taken as one continuous period, odd days cannot be taken.