When an employee is expecting a baby, adopting a child or becoming a parent through surrogacy, they may be entitled to Statutory Paternity Leave and Statutory Paternity Pay.
As an employer, you need to know how much leave they can take, whether they qualify for pay and what information you need from them.
One of the biggest recent changes is that, from 6 April 2026, Statutory Paternity Leave became a day-one employment right in England, Scotland and Wales. Employees no longer need 26 weeks of service to qualify for the leave itself. However, the 26-week rule still applies to Statutory Paternity Pay.
Key facts for employers
- Statutory Paternity Leave is a day-one right in England, Scotland and Wales, according to GOV.UK.
- GOV.UK also states that employees can take one or two weeks of leave. Employees can take the 2 weeks off together or as two separate 1-week blocks.
- Leave must normally end within 52 weeks of the birth, according to the same source as above.
- Statutory Paternity Pay requires at least 26 weeks of continuous employment by the qualifying week, according to GOV.UK.
- For 2026/27, HMRC rates say Statutory Paternity Pay is £194.32 per week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
- Most employers can reclaim 92% of Statutory Paternity Pay from HMRC. Qualifying small employers can reclaim 109%.
- Factorial has leave management tools that help you manage paternity leave requests, track absences and keep leave records in one place.
You can also read Factorial’s guide to the latest UK employment law changes for a broader look at the new rules employers need to know.
What is Statutory Paternity Pay?
Statutory Paternity Pay, or SPP for short, is the minimum amount eligible employees can receive while taking Statutory Paternity Leave. Employers pay it through normal payroll, just like wages. You must deduct Income Tax and National Insurance where required. Statutory Paternity Pay is a different thing from paternity leave.
| Statutory Paternity Leave | Statutory Paternity Pay |
| Gives an employee time away from work | Provides pay during eligible paternity leave |
| Is a day-one right in Great Britain | Has service and earnings requirements |
| Lasts for one or two weeks | Can be paid for one or two weeks |
| Does not depend on earnings | Depends on earnings and eligibility |
Knowing the difference between paternity leave and paternity pay is important because an employee can qualify for paternity leave without qualifying for Statutory Paternity Pay.
What are the paternity leave rules in 2027?
Since 6 April 2026, eligible employees in England, Scotland and Wales can take Statutory Paternity Leave from their first day of employment. The previous 26-week service requirement now applies only to Statutory Paternity Pay rather than the paternity leave itself.
Employees can take:
- one week of paternity leave, or
- two weeks of paternity leave
If they take two weeks, they can take them together or as two separate one-week blocks.
The leave cannot start before the baby is born and must normally finish within 52 weeks of the birth. If the baby is born early, the 52-week period can run from the expected due date instead.
The employee receives the same maximum leave for multiple births. Having twins, for example, does not double their entitlement.
Who is eligible for Statutory Paternity Leave?
An employee may qualify if they are taking time off to care for the child or support their partner and they are:
- the child’s father
- the mother’s or adopter’s husband or partner, including a same-sex partner
- an adopter
- an intended parent through a surrogacy arrangement
For Statutory Paternity Leave in England, Scotland and Wales, they must be classed as an employee and give you the correct notice. There is no longer a minimum service requirement.
Who is eligible for Statutory Paternity Pay?
The rules for Statutory Paternity Pay are stricter than the rules for leave.
For the 2026/27 tax year, an employee must normally:
- have worked for you continuously for at least 26 weeks up to the qualifying week
- still be employed by you up to the child’s birth
- earn an average of at least £129 per week before tax
- be on your payroll
- give you the correct notice
- meet the relationship and caring requirements
The qualifying week is normally the 15th week before the week the baby is due. Different rules apply for adoption.
If an employee qualifies for leave but not pay, you still need to allow the statutory leave.
If they do not qualify for Statutory Paternity Pay, you must officially tell them why using form SPP1. HMRC says this should be done within 28 days.
How much is Statutory Paternity Pay in 2027?
For the 2026/27 tax year, which runs until 5 April 2027, Statutory Paternity Pay is:
£194.32 per week or 90% of the employee’s average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
At the time of writing this article, HMRC has not yet published the 2027/28 Statutory Paternity Pay rate, which will apply from 6 April 2027. Employers should therefore check the latest HMRC rates before processing paternity pay after that date.
Can employers offer more paternity pay?
Statutory Paternity Pay is the legal minimum for eligible employees. You can offer more by offering enhanced paternity pay through your company policy.
For example, you could choose to offer:
- full salary for two weeks
- a higher fixed payment
- more than two weeks of company paternity leave
If you provide an enhanced scheme, make the rules clear in your employment contracts or paternity leave policy.
How long is Statutory Paternity Leave?
Employees can take a maximum of two weeks of Statutory Paternity Leave.
They can take one week only, two weeks together, or two separate blocks of one week.
This gives employees more flexibility than under the old rules, when the two weeks had to be taken together.
The leave can start:
- on the date the baby is born
- a set number of days after the birth
- on another agreed date after the birth
Leave cannot begin before the child is born. The employee normally has 52 weeks after the birth to use their paternity leave.
How does paternity leave work for employers?
Your employee needs to give you notice before taking paternity leave. For a birth, they must normally tell you the baby’s due date at least 15 weeks before the baby is expected.
They must then tell you:
- when they want the leave to start
- whether they want one or two weeks
They should give you this information at least 28 days before the leave starts. The notice does not have to be in writing unless you ask for written notice.
What if the employee changes the dates?
An employee can change when they want their paternity leave to start. They normally need to give you at least 28 days’ notice of the change.
Make sure your HR and payroll records are updated so that the right dates and pay reach your payroll team.
Can you delay a paternity leave request?
You cannot simply refuse statutory paternity leave because the dates are inconvenient for your business.
However, if an employee does not give the required notice and does not have a reasonable excuse, you may be able to delay the start of the leave or pay. HMRC says you must write to the employee within 28 days of their request if you do this.
How do you calculate Statutory Paternity Pay?
Start by calculating the employee’s average weekly earnings. HMRC normally looks at gross earnings during an eight-week relevant period. The exact dates depend on the employee’s pay schedule and qualifying week.
You then compare:
90% of average weekly earnings
with
the statutory weekly rate
and pay whichever is lower.
For example, if an employee’s average weekly earnings are £600:
90% of £600 = £540
The 2026/27 statutory rate is £194.32, so they receive £194.32 per week.
If they take two weeks and the same rate applies to both, their total Statutory Paternity Pay would be £388.64 before tax and National Insurance.
For an exact calculation, employers can use HMRC’s maternity, adoption and paternity calculator. It can help you work out eligibility, average weekly earnings and the leave period.
How do employers pay Statutory Paternity Pay?
You pay SPP in the same way you normally pay the employee. For example, if you run payroll monthly, you include the relevant Statutory Paternity Pay in their monthly pay. You must deduct Income Tax and National Insurance where applicable.
Make sure payroll knows:
- the employee’s leave dates
- how many weeks they are taking
- whether the weeks are together or separate
- their average weekly earnings
- the correct statutory rate
- whether your company offers enhanced paternity pay
Keeping this information together in an employee portal reduces the risk of the wrong payment being made.
Can employers reclaim Statutory Paternity Pay?
Most employers can reclaim 92% of the Statutory Paternity Pay they pay to employees. If your business qualifies for Small Employers’ Relief, you can reclaim 109%. For 2026/27, this generally applies if your total Class 1 National Insurance contributions were £45,000 or less in the relevant previous tax year.
You claim the money through payroll using an Employer Payment Summary. If you offer enhanced paternity pay above the statutory amount, you cannot normally reclaim the extra amount.
What rights do employees have during paternity leave?
Taking paternity leave does not end or pause an employee’s basic employment rights.
During Statutory Paternity Leave, they continue to have rights including:
- accruing holiday
- receiving any relevant pay rises
- returning to work after their leave
Their employment rights remain protected while they are away. You can read our guide to UK annual leave entitlement for more information about how holiday entitlement works. Employers should also make sure employees are not treated unfairly because they have requested or taken statutory paternity leave.
What if an employee wants more than two weeks off?
Statutory Paternity Leave itself only lasts for up to two weeks. However, employees have other options.
For example, eligible parents may be able to use Shared Parental Leave, which allows parents to share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of statutory pay after maternity leave or adoption entitlement is reduced.
Since April 2026, an eligible employee in Great Britain can take paternity leave before or after Shared Parental Leave, giving families more flexibility over when the two weeks are used.
Depending on the situation, employees might also use:
- annual leave
- unpaid parental leave
- additional company parental leave
- another flexible arrangement agreed with you
Your own parental leave policy should explain any benefits you provide above the statutory minimum.
What records should employers keep?
You need to keep records of Statutory Paternity Pay for HMRC.
These include:
- when SPP started
- how much you paid
- when payments were made
- how much you reclaimed
- any weeks you did not pay
- SPP and the reason
- proof of adoption where required
You must generally keep these records for three years from the end of the tax year they relate to. Keeping the employee’s request, approved leave dates, and payroll information together also makes it easier to answer questions later. A great tool for answering employee questions–especially the most frequently asked questions–is an AI agent like Factorial’s agent called One. It connects to your company data in a secure way and lets you save hours you would normally spend answering employee tickets.
Paternity leave checklist for employers
When an employee tells you they are expecting or adopting a child, you can follow this simple process to make sure you don’t miss any important steps:
- Record the baby’s due date or relevant adoption date
- Check the employee has given the right notice
- Record when they want to take their leave
- Check whether they qualify for Statutory Paternity Pay
- Calculate average weekly earnings
- Confirm the correct statutory or enhanced pay
- Send the information to payroll
- Record the absence
- Plan cover for the employee’s time away
- Keep the required SPP records
Similarly, as in the case of maternity leave and pay, having one process for paternity and other family leave makes it easier for HR, managers and payroll to stay aligned.
Factorial’s guide to time and attendance management software also explains how businesses can centralise different types of employee leave instead of managing them across separate spreadsheets and emails.
Manage paternity leave more easily with Factorial
Paternity leave may only last one or two weeks, but several teams can be involved in managing it. HR needs to record the leave and keep employee information organised. Managers need to plan around the absence. Your payroll team needs the right dates and pay information. Finance may need visibility over payroll costs and statutory payment recovery.
Factorial is an AI business management platform that brings HR, finance and IT together in one place. With Factorial, you can centralise employee records, create time-off policies, record absences and give managers a clear view of who will be away.
Factorial’s absence management tools can also help you:
- manage leave from one place
- create custom time-off policies
- keep upcoming absences visible in a shared calendar
- simplify requests and approvals
- reduce spreadsheets and manual admin
This makes it easier to manage paternity leave alongside annual leave, maternity leave and other employee absences. Explore Factorial’s holiday and absence management software to see how you can simplify leave management across your business. Request a demo to see Factorial in action and get a quote tailored to the needs of your organisation!
FAQs about Statutory Paternity Pay and Leave
Not automatically. If an employee only receives Statutory Paternity Pay, they get the statutory weekly rate or 90% of their average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. An employer can choose to offer enhanced paternity pay, including full pay.
For 2026/27, an employee generally needs to have worked for the employer for at least 26 continuous weeks by the qualifying week, still be employed up to the birth, earn at least £129 per week on average and meet the notice and relationship requirements.
Statutory Paternity Pay is a government-set minimum and is capped at a weekly rate. It is not designed to automatically replace an employee's full salary. Employers can choose to offer more through an enhanced paternity pay policy.
Work out 90% of the employee's average weekly earnings and compare it with the statutory weekly rate. You pay whichever amount is lower. For 2026/27, the statutory rate is £194.32 per week. Employers can also use HMRC's paternity pay calculator.
No, if you qualify for Statutory Paternity Leave and give the correct notice, your employer cannot simply refuse it.
