Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department offers paternity leave to its staff from their first working day.

DCMS offers paternity leave in line with legislation: to access statutory paternity leave and pay, an employee must have worked for their employer for at least 26 weeks up to the 15th week before their baby is due. However, some staff could qualify for statutory shared parental leave on their first day of service with a particular department, because they already have service with another department.

To access DCMS’s occupational paternity leave and pay offer, an employee must have at least one year's continuous service in the Civil Service.

As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in preparation for when the Employment Rights Bill 2024-25 comes into effect.