How much you'll get
Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) covers up to 2 weeks. Unlike maternity pay it doesn't step down — both weeks are paid at the same rate.
| What | Length | What you get (2026/27) |
|---|
| Statutory Paternity Pay | Up to 2 weeks | £194.32 a week, or 90% of your average weekly earnings if that's lower |
Your "average weekly earnings" are worked out from your pay in the roughly 8-week period ending with the qualifying week (the 15th week before your baby is due). SPP is paid the same way as your wages — weekly or monthly — for the week(s) of leave you take.
SPP is taxed
SPP counts as earnings, so Income Tax and National Insurance are deducted before you receive it. It also counts as income for Universal Credit, so your UC payment may go down for the period you're receiving it.
Some employers offer "enhanced" or "contractual" paternity pay that's more generous than the statutory minimum — check your contract, staff handbook or HR team to see if you get more.
Who qualifies
To get Statutory Paternity Pay from your employer, you must:
- Be an employee (not self-employed or a worker on certain contracts).
- Be the baby's father, the mother's or adopter's partner, or otherwise responsible for the child's upbringing.
- Have been continuously employed by the same employer for at least 26 weeks up to and including the "qualifying week" — the 15th week before the week the baby is due.
- Earn on average at least the Lower Earnings Limit — £129 a week (2026/27) before tax.
- Give your employer the correct notice (see below).
Leave is now a day-one right — but pay isn't
From 6 April 2026, the right to take paternity leave became a day-one employment right — no qualifying period to take time off. But to be paid Statutory Paternity Pay you still need the 26 weeks' employment and the earnings tests above.
If you don't meet the employment or earnings test for pay, you may still be able to take the leave unpaid, and it's worth checking what else you're entitled to as a new parent — see Check my benefits.
The April 2024 flexibility
Paternity leave got much more flexible for babies due (or adoption placements) on or after 6 April 2024:
- You can take the 2 weeks as one block, or as two separate one-week blocks (previously it had to be a single, unbroken period).
- You can take it at any point in the first 52 weeks after the birth or adoption placement (previously it had to be used within 56 days).
- You give shorter notice — at least 28 days before each week of leave (previously 15 weeks' notice of the planned dates).
That means a dad or partner can, for example, take one week when the baby arrives and keep the second week for a few months later — useful when a partner's maternity leave is ending or childcare changes.
How to get it
You don't claim SPP from the government — your employer works it out and pays it. Your job is to tell them properly and on time.
How to get it — 3 steps
- Tell your employer you want paternity leave and pay, and when you want to take it — at least 28 days before each week of leave (or as soon as reasonably practicable if the baby comes early).
- Confirm your relationship to the child and that you're taking the leave to care for the child or support the mother/adopter (your employer may use form SC3 or their own version).
- Your employer then works out your average earnings and pays your SPP with your normal wages for the week(s) you take.
If your employer says you don't qualify for pay, they must give you form SPP1 explaining why — ask them to confirm it in writing.
If you think your SPP is wrong, ask your employer to explain how they worked it out. If you still disagree, or your employer can't pay (for example because they've gone insolvent), you can contact HMRC's Statutory Payment Disputes Team via GOV.UK. ACAS (0300 123 1100) gives free, impartial advice on paternity pay and rights at work.
Want more time? Shared Parental Leave
Two weeks isn't long. If you want to take more time off to care for the baby, the route is Shared Parental Leave (SPL) — where the parents share the mother's or adopter's leave and pay between them.
| Statutory Paternity Pay | Shared Parental Pay |
|---|
| How long | Up to 2 weeks | Up to 37 weeks of pay, shared between the parents (up to 50 weeks of leave) |
| Rate (2026/27) | £194.32/wk (or 90% if lower) | £194.32/wk (or 90% of earnings if lower) |
| Comes from | The mother/adopter's maternity or adoption leave & pay | The mother/adopter's maternity or adoption leave & pay |
They can't run at the same time
You can't be paid Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Shared Parental Pay for the same period. Many parents take the 2 weeks of paternity leave around the birth, then use Shared Parental Leave later for extra time.
Read GOV.UK Shared Parental Leave and Pay →
Other money for new parents
While you're expecting or with a new baby, several other UK schemes are worth checking: