Paternity leave is one of the more commonly misunderstood entitlements in Indian HR, mostly because people assume it works like maternity leave, a fixed statutory number everyone gets. It doesn’t, at least not in the private sector.

What the law actually requires

There is no central statute mandating paternity leave for private-sector employees in India, and the four Labour Codes that came into force in November 2025 didn’t add one either. The one group with a guaranteed entitlement is central government employees, who get 15 days of paid paternity leave under the CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972, usable within six months of the child’s birth or adoption. Outside the central government, paternity leave is entirely a matter of company policy, commonly ranging from about 5 to 15 days, with real variation between employers and no legal floor.

Frequently asked questions

Can a private employer refuse to offer any paternity leave at all?

Legally, yes, in the sense that there’s no statutory mandate requiring it. In practice, most established employers offer some paternity leave as a retention and benefits differentiator, even without a legal requirement to do so.

Is paternity leave paid or unpaid where it’s offered?

Almost always paid where a company offers it as a policy benefit, since it’s designed to function as a benefit rather than a cost-saving unpaid leave category.

Does paternity leave apply to same-sex couples or adoptive fathers?

This depends entirely on how an individual company’s policy is written, since there’s no central statute setting the rule either way.

See our guide to what an employee handbook should cover for how a paternity leave policy typically gets documented.