BPPL: Who is eligible?

Requirements

To be eligible for bereaved partner's paternity leave (BPPL), an employee must:

• Be taking BPPL during the eligibility window following the death of the child's primary carer
• Have a qualifying relationship with either the child or the child's primary carer
• Have the main responsibility for the upbringing of the child
• Be taking BPPL to care for the child

Note that, in some special circumstances, an employee may still be eligible for a reduced period of BPPL if they don't meet these requirements (e.g. if the child has also died).

Who is the primary carer?

Primary carer means:

• For a birth (where no surrogate is involved), the child's mother.
• In a surrogacy, the person who has obtained the parental order for the child under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (or who will apply for it within 6 months of the birth and expects the order to be granted). If a joint application is made, the primary carer is the person the couple agreed is the main adopter for adoption-leave purposes.
• In an adoption, the person adopting the child. If the child is jointly adopted, the primary carer is the person the couple agreed is the main adopter for adoption-leave purposes.

What is a qualifying relationship?

For a birth (where no surrogate is involved), the employee must be either:

• The child's father; or
• The spouse, civil partner or partner of the primary carer, immediately before their death.

For an adoption or surrogacy, the employee must have been the spouse, civil partner or partner of the primary carer, either:

• On the date the child was adopted (for an adoption); or
• On the date the child was born (for a surrogate birth); or
• Immediately before the primary carer's death.

Partner of the primary carer means the employee lived with them in an enduring family relationship. It doesn't include, for example, relatives.