Maternity Pay Option for Partner if I’m Self Employed: Ask the expert

This question is up for debate and contentious because currently as you are self employed your partner would not have right to any leave or pay.

The European Court of Justice has held that EU law does not preclude an employed mother from deciding that the child’s employed father will take all or part of her maternity leave after the compulsory maternity leave period. In the ECJ’s view, EU law also does not prevent a national law from excluding an employed father from entitlement to shared maternity leave where the child’s mother is self-employed and not covered by a State security scheme. A self-employed mother not covered by the State social security system has no primary right to maternity leave. Therefore, she has no right to share maternity leave with the employed father of the child and he has no independent right to the leave himself.

It depends on whether or not UK law will allow fathers to take leave and receive pay where the mother is self employed. The present position is no, but this could change near to or after Shared Parental Leave legislation kicks in in April 2015.

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• Shared parental leave Self-employed Maternity leave