Paternity Leave Request

A Paternity Leave Request is a notice or letter sent by an employee who wants to request a leave of absence by reason of the pregnancy or miscarriage of his spouse. These types of leaves which the law grants in favor of the employee should be granted by the employer otherwise the employer may be found to be violating the laws and may be punished accordingly.

Under the Paternity Leave Act, a married male employee may claim Paternity Leave if his wife underwent delivery or miscarriage. He is guaranteed seven (7) days of leave with pay provided that the following requirements are complied with:

• that he is an employee at the time of delivery or miscarriage;
• that he is married and living with his spouse;
• that his claim is within the first 4 pregnancies of the claiming employee's spouse; and
• that this letter will be sent within a reasonable time before his spouse's due date.

If the abovementioned requirements are not all complied with, the employee can still request for leave but it is now subject to his employer's approval and is not entitled to full pay but is no longer limited to seven (7) days.

This type of leave is a special leave request and should not be used for ordinary leaves such as sick leave, vacation leave, or service incentive leave, for these kinds of leave, an ordinary Leave Request from Employee should be used. Further, this is not applicable to other special types of leaves such as maternity leave, solo-parent leave, and the special leave provided by the magna carta of women. For maternity leaves, use a Maternity Leave Request.

How to use this document

The details of the employee such as his name and contact details should be provided, as well as the details of the employer to whom the leave is requested by the employee. The following are the essential contents of this letter:

• The reason for claiming the leave whether pregnancy or miscarriage of the employee's spouse. This should include the attachment of the medical certificate issued by the employee's physician relative to such pregnancy or miscarriage.
• The start date of the leave.
• If the requirements under the Paternity Leave Act are not complied with, the end date of the leave should also be included which can be beyond seven days.
• The estimated date of delivery (or the date of miscarriage).

After completing the document, this letter may be printed, signed, and sent to the employer and the employee should keep a copy for their records. This letter may likewise be sent via email to the employer.

Applicable Law

The Labor Code of the Philippines is the law that governs leave applications of employees in the Philippines. The Department of Labor and Employment also issues Department Orders to implement the laws found in the Labor Code and sets the daily minimum wage rates. Specifically, R.A. 8187 or the Paternity Leave Act is applicable.

How to modify the template

You fill out a form. The document is created before your eyes as you respond to the questions.

At the end, you receive it in Word and PDF formats. You can modify it and reuse it.