Employment law and compliance

Handle statutory paternity leave and pay (post-2024 rules)

Step-by-step task guide for processing a statutory paternity leave and pay request under the post-6-April-2024 regime (SI 2024/329). Covers eligibility, the 28-day notice rule, taking leave as one or two one-week blocks within 52 weeks of birth or placement, calculating SPP, EPS recovery, and the SPP1 refusal form.

Guide summary

Check if your employee qualifies for paternity leave and pay. Confirm their leave dates when they give 28 days' notice. Pay Statutory Paternity Pay at £194.32 a week or 90% of their average earnings if lower. Keep records for 3 years.

  • Check employee has 26 weeks' service by qualifying week
  • Confirm relationship and responsibility for child’s upbringing
  • Allow leave as one 2-week or two 1-week blocks within 52 weeks
  • Pay £194.32/week or 90% of average earnings if lower
  • Give 28 days' notice for each leave period
  • Recover 92% of pay via EPS (103% for small employers)
  • Issue SPP1 form within 28 days if refusing pay
  • Keep records for 3 years after tax year ends
  • Leave is a day-one right from 6 April 2026
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Related guides in Employment & HR

The Paternity and Adoption Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (SI 2024/329) reformed statutory paternity leave for births and placements expected on or after 6 April 2024. The two-week entitlement is unchanged, but employees can now split it into two separate one-week blocks, take leave at any point in the 52 weeks after birth or placement, and give shorter notice for each period.

This guide walks you through your tasks as the employer: confirming eligibility, processing the 28-day notice, allowing leave in the new flexible pattern, calculating Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP), and recovering it through your Employment Payment Summary (EPS). Get this wrong and you risk an Employment Tribunal detriment claim under section 47C of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

Process the request, step by step

Work through the actions below in order. The 28-day notice window is your operational anchor: as soon as a notice arrives, log it, check eligibility, and confirm the leave dates in writing.

  1. 1

    1. Confirm the qualifying relationship

    Paternity leave is available to the biological father, the mother's spouse, civil partner or partner (including same-sex partners), an intended parent in a surrogacy arrangement, or the partner of the main adopter. The employee must expect to have main responsibility (with the mother or main adopter) for the child's upbringing. Ask for a self-declaration on form SC3 (births) or SC4 (adoption) — you do not need a birth certificate.

  2. 2

    2. Check the 26-week continuous service test

    For Statutory Paternity Pay, the employee must have 26 weeks' continuous service ending with the qualifying week (the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth) or, for adoption, the week the adopter is matched with the child. Leave (the unpaid right) currently uses the same 26-week test until 6 April 2026 — see the day-one reform note below.

  3. 3

    3. Process the 28-day notice for each period

    Under SI 2024/329 the employee must give you at least 28 days' notice of each one-week or two-week period they intend to take. They can vary their leave with 28 days' fresh notice. Notice for adoption placements is 28 days from the matching date. Acknowledge each notice in writing and confirm the dates, whether SPP is payable, and the weekly rate.

  4. 4

    4. Allow the leave in the new flexible pattern

    The total entitlement is still two weeks, but the employee may take it as a single one-week block, a single two-week block, or two separate one-week blocks. All leave must be taken within 52 weeks of the birth or placement (previously 56 days). You cannot refuse leave that meets the notice and eligibility rules.

  5. 5

    5. Calculate Statutory Paternity Pay

    SPP is paid at the lower of the standard weekly rate or 90% of the employee's average weekly earnings (AWE) calculated over the eight weeks ending with the qualifying week. The employee must also earn at or above the Lower Earnings Limit on average. Pay SPP through payroll, deducting tax and Class 1 NI. The 2026/27 statutory rate is £194.32 a week, or 90% of the employee's average weekly earnings if lower.

  6. 6

    6. Recover SPP through your Employment Payment Summary

    Most employers reclaim 92% of the SPP paid via the EPS in their Real Time Information return. Small employers (Class 1 NICs liability of £45,000 or less in the previous tax year) qualify for Small Employers' Relief and reclaim 103%, including the compensation uplift. Offset the reclaim against your monthly PAYE bill or apply for a refund if you have no PAYE liability.

  7. 7

    7. Issue form SPP1 if you refuse pay

    If the employee does not qualify for SPP — for example, they have under 26 weeks' service or earn below the Lower Earnings Limit — you must give them form SPP1 within 28 days of their notice. SPP1 explains why pay is refused and lets them claim any alternative support. Refusal of pay does not affect the unpaid leave entitlement if they otherwise qualify.

  8. 8

    8. Keep records for three years

    HMRC requires you to keep records of SPP payments, the dates leave was taken, the SC3 or SC4 declaration, any SPP1 issued, and the AWE calculation for three years after the end of the tax year the payment relates to. Use HMRC-recognised payroll software to keep an audit trail.

Day-one paternity leave from 6 April 2026

The Employment Rights Act 2025 makes statutory paternity leave a day-one right from 6 April 2026, removing the 26-week service test for the unpaid leave entitlement. Statutory Paternity Pay eligibility is unchanged — the 26-week service test and the Lower Earnings Limit continue to apply for SPP. Update your paternity policy, contract templates and onboarding materials before April 2026 to reflect the leave-only change, and brief line managers that new starters can request leave for births or placements on or after the commencement date.

Maternity and paternity calculator (GOV.UK) (opens in a new tab)

Official guidance on GOV.UK