Question to the Ministry of Justice:

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

The Ministry of Justice does not offer employees paternity leave from their first day of employment. The Department’s policy on paternity leave aligns with statutory entitlements. To qualify for paternity leave, employees must have worked continuously for the Civil Service for at least 26 weeks up to the 'qualifying week'. The qualifying week is set out in the Paternity and Adoption Leave Regulations 2002 and is different depending on whether an employee is adopting, is the partner of a birth parent, or is having a child through surrogacy.

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 comes into effect.